#well i didn’t love how he handled the april situation

[justsomeguycore]

luke danes has never done anything wrong ever in her life

[mrworldwideshoulders]

i choose you || reader x knj

When your best friend abandons you at a wedding with a bunch of strangers and the guy she’s trying to set you up with is just not that into you, you decide to have some fun instead of sulking in the corner, which earns you the attention - and the affection - of a stranger named Kim Namjoon.

✓ Pairing: reader x Namjoon (very briefly feat. Jin) ✓ WC: 4.5k ✓ Rating: rated T / PG-13 ✓ Genre: mostly fluff, smidgen of angst, strangers to lovers-ish, love at first sight-ish ✓ Warnings: alcohol consumption, foul language, minho slander (he’s choi minho, he can handle it), seokjin is drunk, loud, and in love, bad descriptions of making out, dimple descriptions, reader is a hoe for namjoon’s forearms, namjoon is a big awkward cutie ✓ a/n: hehehe it's another wedding fic sorry lolololol. this is the prequel to where love finds us and the way you look tonight, if ya wanna check those out afterwards. i meant to have this out last month but oh well, here it is in july :) i like this one a lot because it's a lil bit goofy and i hope you enjoy it too! as always beta’d and bannered by teh amazing april (@onmypillow-onmytable)! thx! ly - robyn ✓ P.S. I do not own BTS or their likenesses, nor do I own the music of Bruno Mars (lol), they just inspire me.

part of the 24k magic collection (masterlist)

“Remind me again why I’m here?” you complain as your best friend, Ji-eun, pulls you by the arm into the reception hall. “When you asked me if I wanted to do something this weekend, crashing someone’s wedding reception was not what I had in mind.” 

“It’s not crashing if you’re invited,” shrugs Ji-eun. “I was invited. And then I invited you. Ergo, you were invited.”

“That is absolutely not how weddings work. Who invited you, anyway? I don’t recognize anyone here.” 

“The bride?” says Ji-eun, as if it should be obvious. “We’re co-workers, or something. She invited everyone from our department.” 

You roll your eyes and sigh. “I’m totally underdressed.” You eye all of the women around you dressed in semi-formal gowns and you elbow Ji-eun in the ribs. “Why didn’t you tell me there was a dress code?” The strapless cocktail dress you thought was such a good idea earlier suddenly seems like the worst decision you ever made, and you didn’t even bring a sweater to save face either, all because the only instruction Ji-eun could bother to give you when she texted this morning was “wear a dress” and “something with lots of cleavage.” Ji-eun, you’ve decided, is bound and determined to drag you into trouble at every opportunity. It’s a wonder you’re both still alive – and not cellmates in jail – with all of the questionable situations she’s been pulling you into since middle school.

“You look hot,” she says. “Don’t even worry about it. You’ll blend right in.”

“Did you just say ‘hot’ and ‘blend in’ in the same sentence?”

“Ugh, you’re so self-conscious. You are hot. I think it’s time you embraced that.” She pouts at the look on your face. “Come on, y/n,” she wheedles. “Minho will be here, and I’ve been wanting to introduce you guys for ages. He’s such a great guy. Did I mention he’s hot? And dying to meet you? Please let me play matchmaker. Then later when you’re happily married to the love of your life, you can say it was all thanks to your best friend in the entire world who loves you enough to set you up with her hot guy friends.”

“Yeah, well, the position of ‘best friend in the entire world’ might be opening up sometime soon if you keep setting me up with these duds.”

“You’re so mean!” she whines. “I told you the last one was just a misunderstanding.” 

“He ditched and left me with the check, Eun. It was not a misunderstanding. It was a calculated move.” The guy even had the audacity to call you later that night to see if you wanted to go out again, claiming “bathroom trouble” as the reason for sticking you with the check. As if you were dumb or desperate enough to fall for that – especially since he’d conveniently been hit by “bathroom trouble” once he was mostly done eating, not to mention your waitress had been kind enough to let you know that she’d seen him slipping out through a side door – apparently completely fine. 

“Stop complaining. Come on. Sparks are going to fly between you two, I just know it.” She resumes tugging on your arm and you reluctantly allow her to pull you along as she weaves through the crowd, finally stopping you in front of a man who must be the fabled Minho. “Oppa!” coos Ji-eun. “This is y/n. You remember, don’t you?” She shoots him a knowing look. 

“Ah, Ji-eun!” he greets her. “I remember. The one you were telling me about, right?” Minho glances at you. “Eun, she’s gorgeous. Where have you been keeping her?” He takes your hand and plants a kiss on it. “Choi Minho.”

“Y/n,” you reply, somewhat taken aback at his outward display of affection. “I’ve heard a lot about you, so it’s nice to finally meet you.” 

“Have fun, you two,” teases Ji-eun in a sing-song voice. “I’m off to snag myself a drink or a handsome groomsman, whichever one comes first.”

“She’s really something else, isn’t she?” you say, looking to break the awkward silence that falls once Ji-eun is gone. “So how do you two know each other? I don’t think she said.” 

“University,” says Minho. “We were in the same major. Same year, too, but she insists on calling me oppa.” He shakes his head and chuckles. Minho says it like it’s something that bothers him, but it clearly doesn’t, or else he would have corrected her before now. 

“Oh, I guess you were a business major, too.” You nod. “Explains why we never ran into each other. I barely saw her the whole time, and we were roommates.”

“We went to the same university?” Minho seems surprised. “I never would have guessed. What major were you in?” Something about the incredulous look on his face rubs you the wrong way. 

“Uh, yeah. We did.” You narrow your eyes. “I was a graphic design major.”

“Graphic design. Wow.” Minho inhales sharply through his teeth. “How’s that going for you? I hear it’s pretty competitive. You know, if you’re ever looking to change fields I’m sure I could find something for you at my company. A favor for a friend of a friend, yeah?

“Oh, um,” you say, “I…have a job. And I kind of like it, so I’m not really planning on moving any time soon.”

“Well, you let me know if you ever change your mind.” He winks and touches your bare arm. “Any friend of Eun’s is a friend of mine. And I’m sure we could take much better care of you than wherever you’re working now.” Minho’s eyes wander from your face down to your chest and then somewhere over your shoulder, where something – or someone – else seems to catch his eye. 

“Uh…thanks,” you say, unsure how else to respond, feeling a little uncomfortable. You wish you had a drink to settle your nerves and a sweater to cover your chest. Why did Ji-eun have to leave? you curse internally. She knows I’m not good at this. “So,” you say brightly, hoping to steer the conversation in another direction. “What does your company do?” 

“We’re in transportation, mostly,” he says, his eyes still somewhere behind you, “but we’ve got our fingers in a lot of pies.”

A few more minutes of conversation with him pass, and it’s already obvious that you and Minho don’t exactly have a lot in common – nor does it seem that you’re really his type, because he keeps glancing at a pretty bridesmaid in a lavender dress somewhere behind you. You’re beginning to wonder what exactly Ji-eun expected the two of you to talk about, because the two of you are polar opposites, and not in the endearing, meet cute, opposites attract sort of way, in the way that even if you did decide to date you’d probably end up butting heads over anything and everything. You steal a covert glance the next time Minho’s eyes wander away from your face and over your shoulder. The bridesmaid is chatting animatedly with what looks like another bridesmaid, cutting glances every so often in your direction – or Minho’s direction, more like. You sigh internally and try to hide your frown. Of course. Minho looks like he could be an idol or an actor; it only makes sense that he wouldn’t be interested in you. He probably only even agreed to meet you as a favor to Ji-eun. Well, if he’s not even going to pretend he’s interested – then why should you? “Minho?” you say sweetly. “I’m going to go get a drink.”

“Don’t miss me too much while you’re gone.” He grins. 

“I’ll, uh, do my best.” You find your way over to the bar and watch as Minho approaches the bridesmaid he was making eyes at, any thoughts of you surely already forgotten. You shake your head and sip your wine. He’s probably better suited for her than he is for you. You blow out a long breath and order a glass of white wine from the bartender. Why does it have to be like this? Every guy, every date, every time you even attempt to put yourself out there – it just never works. Sure, part of it is probably your fault for having unrealistic standards. And part of you doesn’t even really want a relationship, not after watching your parents tear each other to pieces every time they set foot in the same room together. It’s not like it’s always been your dream to fall in love and get married, either. The only thing you’ve ever wanted for yourself is to be happy. If that’s with a man in your life – then so be it. Everyone always says that you’ll know when the right one comes along, but you’re starting to think that has about as much likelihood of happening as you becoming president. 

You throw back half of your wine in one gulp. Ah, should I just leave? you wonder to yourself, scanning the room for Ji-eun. There’s no point in me staying if Minho isn’t interested and nobody else is either. What else am I here for other than that? You debate slipping out the front door, flagging down a taxi, and going home, but eventually decide against it, feeling a twinge of guilt at the idea of abandoning Ji-eun at this wedding by herself – even if she did technically do the same thing to you. Really starting to question who’s putting the most effort into this friendship, you gripe internally. 

You finish the rest of your wine and request another from the bartender. What am I doing? you think suddenly, the first glass of wine beginning to hit you as you start on the second. Am I really just standing here drowning my troubles at a wedding, of all places? This is so dumb. You scan the room. The dance floor is crowded, with people moving back and forth, dancing, reveling in the moment, the music pounding all around. Instead of lingering by the bar, feeling pitiful and alone…the realization dawns on you that you should be out there, having fun. Or, at the very least, keeping your mind occupied enough to forget the disappointment of yet another man having no interest in you. 

“Dance like no one’s watching, right?” you say to yourself, downing the rest of your second glass of wine and hopefully, washing away the nerves that normally plague you, the fear of being perceived when it comes to doing anything in social situations. As the wine hits you, you begin to feel pleasantly warm and tipsy, and you move toward the crowd, the lights bouncing off the lacquered wood floor. Before you can talk yourself out of it, you close your eyes and feel yourself start to move with the beat of the music. You don’t even know the happy couple, but you silently thank them for hiring such a good DJ. 

Minutes pass, though it feels much longer, with you tossing your hair, moving your hips and head back and forth to the beat of the music, forgetting about the fact that your best friend is a terrible matchmaker, and the fact that it feels like she’s genuinely trying to set you up for failure, making you question everything about yourself, forgetting about the fact that you couldn’t even hold a man’s attention for longer than ten minutes, even in a stupidly revealing cocktail dress that your friend made you wear under false pretenses. And in those moments, it’s just you, and the music, remembering that you are pretty, and one guy’s stupid opinion of you doesn’t matter. Love will come, or it won’t, and you’re determined to be happy with your life either way. 

The strappy heels you’re wearing prove to be your downfall, and you eventually decide to extricate yourself from the throng of wedding guests, limping back over to the bar. Your cheeks are flushed, and you’re exhausted, but there’s a sense of exhilaration pumping through you, feeling somewhat revitalized by making yourself do something you wouldn’t normally do on your own. You steady yourself against the bar, standing on one foot while you rest the other, and request another glass of wine from the bartender. 

“Looks like you were enjoying yourself out there.” A low voice materializes next to you. Your head swivels in the direction of the voice to find a man standing just feet away from you, holding a bottle of beer and watching you with interest. He’s much taller than you, but not intimidating, with an approachable air about him, and warm brown eyes that remind you of autumn. A dark blazer is slung over one shoulder, leaving him in a simple white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, the folded cuffs tugging at his muscular forearms. His friendly smile accentuates the dimple in his cheek. 

“Oh!” you say, cheeks flushing. You put your other foot back on the ground in surprise. “Yeah. I guess. I don’t normally do that kind of thing, but my friend dragged me here because she wanted me to meet this guy, but they both disappeared, and then I was just standing here all alone feeling sorry for myself.” You lift one shoulder in a shrug. ”I don’t even really know anyone here, but I figured I might as well make the best of it and have some fun.” 

“Looks like we’re in the same boat,” he says with a chuckle. ”I sort of got dragged here too.” 

“Well, from one wedding crasher to another, let me introduce myself.” You hold out a hand jokingly for him to shake. “I’m y/n.”

“Y/n,” he repeats, taking your hand. “Nice to meet you, y/n. I’m Namjoon.” 

"There, now we both know at least one other person." You smile, taking a sip from the glass of wine that the bartender has just set in front of you. 

“So this guy your friend wanted you to meet,” he says. “You didn’t like him?” 

"No?" You make a face. “I mean, he was all right, I guess, but I don't think we had very much in common. Besides, he was making googly eyes at some bridesmaid the whole time I was talking to him." A rueful sigh huffs through your lips. "I’ve got to stop listening to Ji-eun. She means well, but one thing she doesn’t have is a talent for matchmaking.” 

“Sorry to hear that," says Namjoon. "About the guy.” 

“It’s okay. At least we didn’t waste too much of each other's time.” You smile. “Anyway, why aren’t you out there? Isn’t everyone supposed to be dancing? It’s a party, after all.” 

“Oh, no.” He chuckles. His laugh feels affable and warm, just like his smile. “I’m a terrible dancer. It's better that I don’t. I’d probably end up breaking something, or someone. I’m just here for the atmosphere.” He sets his bottle down on the bar top. “Besides, I was having more fun watching you.” His brown eyes twinkle.

Your heart flutters in your chest and you find yourself trying to hold back a laugh. 

“Not buying it?” he says teasingly. You shake your head, still smiling. “Sorry. I’ve never been very good at this. Whatever this is.” 

“I’ll give you a point for trying.” 

“Ah, good. That means I didn’t fail completely, right?” 

“Right. Something like that.” You laugh. “So who dragged you here? Are your friends equally as annoying as mine?” 

"My friend, Seokjin, who's been bugging me to get out for weeks. He claims to know the groom or something. No, wait, it was the best man…or maybe it was the best man’s friend? I’m actually not sure.” He scans the crowded dance floor and points. “Him, right there, with the shoulders.” You follow his line of vision over to a tall, broad-shouldered man, flailing his arms and virtually towering over his dance partner, who, come to think of it, looks a lot like…Ji-eun? "He might actually be more dangerous on the dance floor than me.”

“Funny,” you say. “That's my best friend he's dancing with.” 

“Really?” Namjoon looks at you, then back at them. “Wow. I guess it’s only right that our annoying best friends found their way to each other.” 

“No offense to your friend, but I don’t think it’ll last very long. Ji-eun’s not known for committing long-term. She’s a walking contradiction. Convinced she’ll be the one to introduce me to my one and only, yet has no interest in finding one of her own.” 

“As luck would have it, neither is Jin. They’re a perfect match.” 

You raise your glass. “In that case, may the Seokjins and the Ji-euns of the world always find their way to each other.” 

He clinks his bottle with your cup. “Hear, hear.” 

Namjoon is easy to talk to, and he's especially interested in your job illustrating book covers for a publishing house. "It's nothing special." You wave your hands. “It’s a really small company. And I’ve only been doing it for about a year, so I’m not very good at it yet.” 

"Are you kidding?” he says, awestruck. “I’ve never met anyone who does that. And you must be good, or you wouldn’t be doing it professionally.”

“Well, it pays the bills,” you say, dipping your head modestly, “and it gives me plenty of free time to work on my own art.” 

“Really?“ Namjoon looks intrigued. “What medium do you prefer?” 

“I’m a painter. Mostly. But I like to experiment with a little bit of everything.”

“Wow. She designs book covers. She paints. And now I’m wondering where you’ve been all my life.” A tinge of pink colors his cheeks. “Uh…I just meant…” He rubs at his neck self-consciously. “Anyway.”

He’s awfully cute when he’s flustered. 

The conversation takes a slight turn, and you find yourself listening with interest as he tells you about his work as a grad student, his dissertation on the intersection of art and philosophy, his plans for the future after he finishes his doctorate. Tenure, professorhood, the papers he wants to write. The art he'd like to buy if he had the money. If it were anyone else, you know you'd be starting to zone out by now, but there's something about Namjoon's low, even voice that draws you in and keeps you paying attention. Like a documentary narrator, or a radio host. 

"You're staring at me," he says, his tone light and teasing. 

You were listening so intently that you didn't even realize what you were doing. "Was I?" You turn away slightly, hoping to hide the blooming patches of pink on your cheeks. "Sorry." 

"It's okay." Namjoon's eyes crinkle into a smile. "It's all I can do to get the freshmen in my courses to look at anything other than their screens, so trust me, I don't mind it at all. I'm just glad you don't think I'm boring."

"Boring?" you say, surprised. "Are there people out there who think you're boring?"

"Oh, definitely. You'd be surprised. Jin, for one. He swears up and down that he doesn't think so, but a few minutes in and his eyes are already starting to glaze over. You, on the other hand…well, I've been monologuing for ages, but you've just been standing there with that mesmerized look on your face the whole time."

"Mesmerized?" You chuckle. "I don't know about that."

"No, it's true," he insists. "Admit it. I fascinate you."

"And?” you ask. “What about it?” 

“What do you say we get out of here?” he says, barely blinking an eye. The corner of his mouth quirks. “This party’s almost over anyway. We can continue this conversation somewhere we can actually hear ourselves think.” 

You hesitate. You barely know this guy. But he likes you – you can tell. He’s the first guy in a long time to express genuine interest in you or your job or your personal life in general. It doesn’t hurt that he’s easy to look at, either, with his striking brown eyes and easy, dimpled smile. There’s just something about the way he looks at you that makes your palms tingle and you heart feel like it’s about to explode. And what is it about rolled up sleeves and exposed forearms that just drives you absolutely insane? Maybe it’s the alcohol talking, or the letdown from Ji-eun’s unsuccessful attempt to set you up with Minho – but you have to see where this goes. “Okay,” you say finally. “Where should we go?” 

He’s about to speak when Seokjin and Ji-eun stumble up, arm in arm. “Namjoon-ah! My best friend!” Seokjin exclaims drunkenly. He throws his long arms over Namjoon’s shoulders from behind, pink-cheeked and grinning. “I think I’m in love.”

“Oh, really?” Namjoon eyes his friend with a dry expression. “Who is she, then?”

He looks at Ji-eun blankly, then back at Namjoon. "Ah, well, her name isn't important. What matters is…I'm in love." Seokjin pokes a long finger into Namjoon’s cheek. “And I’m going to marry her.” 

“Oppa!” squeals Ji-eun, pulling him back toward her. “Really?” 

“Uh-huh. I’ll bet.” Namjoon’s gaze cuts in your direction. “Sorry. Normally he’s better at holding his liquor than this,” he whispers. “I should really get him home before he gets any louder – and gets us uninvited from future events.”  

“Same here,” you say apologetically. “If we can manage to split them apart again.” Seokjin and Ji-eun are once again furiously making out, hands in places you’re not even sure you’re supposed to be looking. 

“They’ll have to come up for air sometime. I think we might have a chance then. You grab yours and I’ll grab mine?”

“Deal.” The second Ji-eun pulls away from Seokjin to take a breath, you take her firmly by the arm and pull her toward the door of the reception hall, ignoring her protesting about being separated from the love of her life, while Namjoon tugs Seokjin along behind you. There’s a line of people outside already waiting for taxis, given that you’re in the middle of the city, so you join the queue behind another couple, still trying to prevent Ji-eun and Seokjin from devouring each other whole on the sidewalk. 

“Nicely done,” says Namjoon, the dimple in his cheek reappearing alongside his grin, while he maintains a firm grip on Seokjin's arm. “I take it you have experience with this?”

“Only every Saturday night since university.” You chuckle. “Between the two of us I’m definitely the responsible one.” 

“Eonni!” whines Ji-eun. “Don’t tell him that! He’ll think you’re boring!” 

You plant an elbow firmly into the side of her ribs, sending her into silence. 

"That's okay." His smile doesn't waver. "I'm a little bit boring myself, so what's one boring person to another?"

Boring? you think. You're not boring at all. You’re passionate about what you love. You’re the first man to look at me that way: like I’m the most interesting person in the world to you, when really it’s the other way around. You’re sweet. You’re adorably awkward. You’re bad at flirting – but something about you draws me in anyway. And I know we’ve only just met…but I want to know everything about you. What makes you happy, what inspires you, what intrigues you…I want to spend hours listening to you tell me all about it.

The crowd waiting for cabs disperses until it's just you and Namjoon. "I guess this is it, then,” he says as a taxi finally pulls to a stop in front of you. “We should do this again sometime. Minus the drunk people, of course. Not that I don’t enjoy dragging a hundred and thirty pounds of dead weight around with me, but it does put a damper on things, doesn’t it?” 

“Yah, you bastard! I’m not that heavy!” Seokjin bellows, as he's struggling to stay upright, his words still slurring together. 

“Yeah,” you say. “I’d like that. Maybe we can actually finish that conversation we were having before we got interrupted.” You nudge Ji-eun, who seems determined to make herself as unwieldy as possible, not so gently into the cab, sending her tumbling into the backseat, and turn back to him. “By the way…I really appreciate it. You talking to me. It made me forget how totally out of place I was.” 

“Ah, it was nothing.” He ducks his head sheepishly. “As a fellow wedding crasher, I’m happy to have helped. Thanks for putting up with me rambling all night.” 

“Please.” You smile, waving your hand. “Nothing to put up with. I had a good time.” 

“Well…good night, y/n.” Namjoon closes the car door after you. “Get home safe. Until next time?”

“Until next time.” You look up at him. “Good night, Namjoon.” You sit back in your seat, allowing the flutter of excitement that’s been slowly building in your stomach to take flight. This guy…he likes you. He really likes you. You’re going to see him again. And for the first time, in a long time, if not ever…you’re excited. Really excited. Your hand goes to your mouth, barely concealing the grin that’s forming on your lips. 

As your taxi pulls away from the curb, a hand suddenly appears in the half-open window, causing it to jerk to a stop. Namjoon appears next to the car, shaking his hand ruefully and wincing. "Damn, that hurts. Guess that'll teach me, won't it?" He leans down, bringing his face closer to yours. "Sorry about that. You were just about to disappear when it dawned on me that I forgot to ask you for your number, and I knew I had to do something before I lost you."

“Oh! My number.” Your heart flutters again. “Yeah, you’re going to need that, aren’t you?” 

Namjoon watches as you tap your number into his phone. “Good thing I remembered when I did. That could have been a disaster.”

“A disaster, huh?” you ask, handing his phone back to him.

“Catastrophic.” He laughs, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “How else would we have found out if we were meant to be if we didn’t go on an actual first date?” He gazes down at you with a teasing grin. “Anyway – I’ll call you?”

“Soon, I hope.” You smile. “I’ll be waiting.”

“I’ll try not to keep you waiting too long.” Namjoon’s eyes meet with yours momentarily before he turns away, letting out an awkward chuckle. “Well…good night, y/n. I mean it this time. Really.” 

“Good night,” you say, stifling a giggle. “Get home safe.” 

The taxi finally pulls away from the curb, and you can’t help looking out the window after him as he walks back toward Seokjin. He’s handsome, even from behind. Ji-eun flops against you, and you shift her to a more comfortable position against your shoulder. “I knew dragging you along was a good idea. Did I call it, or what?” she mumbles proudly. “You know, I saw the way you were looking at that guy just now.” She pokes teasingly at your arm, eyes half-closed. “Like you wanted to dive right in and take up residence in his dimples. And sparks like a fireworks show. It’s so obvious! You are smitten.” Ji-eun sing-songs the last part.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you say, pressing your lips together to hide your smile. Ji-eun might not have introduced you to the love of your life – but it’s the first time in a while that you’ve felt this way about anyone – and you suppose you do have to thank her for that. 

©2023 by mrworldwideshoulders || series masterlist || collection masterlist || my masterlist ||

[setokaibapetty]

5 + 1 Fic Friday Roundup: On Campus

One of the things that April is an awareness month for is community college. So, have some fanfic with student//teacher characters or a school setting.

Mahogany (AO3) - "Shepard and squaddies are students at the elite Galactic Training Academy. (Think Starfleet meets Hogwarts. In space.) Reapers have been dead for hundreds of years, but there are still plenty of baddies out in the galaxy. Shepard-in-training rises to the occasion, with the aid of her squad and a certain snarky flight student. Currently Rated M for language and mature situations."

The Night Will Come but Not to Stay (AO3) - "Jazz is excited about going to Gotham University for college. It's halfway across the country from Amity Park and anyone who knows about her weird family or ghost nonsense. Finally, she can pretend to be a normal woman who just wants to go into psychiatry. She meets a cute guy named Jason, and they seem to be getting along great."

Form 23-C: Application for a New Roommate (AO3) - "After battling ninjas, aliens, madmen, mafiosos, other heroes and death itself, Jason was about to face his most unknown foe yet: a normal life. It's fine. He'd always dreamed of going to college and for once reality sort of lived up to expectations. He loves the classes, he can handle the workload and his cases too. His roommate is a total douche, but whatever. Jason's fine, he's got this. Then he meets his roommate's brother. Jason totally doesn't have this."

Holy Romantic Overtures, Batman! (AO3) - "After the heist of a lifetime, henchman!Jason decides to go legit and enrolls in college. The last person he expected to see there was Robin, and he certainly didn’t expect to fall for him either. But somehow it all works out. Maybe it’s all the labels?"

campus cryptid vs. future valedictorian (AO3) - "Mara Glass did not care about "weird hot guy," the supposed "campus cryptid." She had heard of him her first couple years and had him pointed out to her by a classmate once, but what was there to notice? Okay, he was probably thirty, a nontraditional student, so what? There were a number of those around. Apparently he was hot--well congrats to people who were into people, they could keep him. And if you asked Mara, from her extremely objective perspective, those Disney-green eyes were doing a lot of heavy lifting. There was nothing particularly noteworthy about a thirty-something guy who didn't talk about himself to twenty-year-old classmates. He probably had, like, a real life. There were rumors he was married, although Brittany noted that the only reason people thought that was because one time someone heard him finish a phone call with, "You light the candles, I'll bring dinner. I love you." None of that was remotely interesting to Mara. He sounded like a normal person, and she wished people would shut up about him. Then in third year, she had a history class with weird hot guy."

Bonus: Scholastic Nightmare (AO3) - "Nara Sayuri, a religious studies major from a traditional household, would be hard pressed to come up with a worse nightmare. It was her first time presenting a paper at a conference and apparently her paper was so wrong that one of her ancestors - a deified ancestor, the Shikabane-hime herself - came down from the heavens specifically to point out how off base Sayuri was."

[idkiwasntsupposedtobebackhere]

what i would do if i was a gilmore girls writer:

april storyline:

i feel like instead of the april storyline liz could have given birth a bit earlier and and luke and lorelai would have to step in to help raise doula a lot. first of all we’d get to see them with a baby, which is cute. but there’s also a lot of room for conflict in deciding how to handle the situation. aka conflict that makes for good TV (”should we even have kids together if we can’t even do this?”, ”we have to make these decisions together, we’re getting married!” etc.) but isn’t life altering enough to ruin the couple. it also draws parallells to the jess storyline (which was a huge part of the earlier seasons), luke’s established family issues and his earlier disagreements with lorelai which makes luke’s character arc and the show as a whole more cohesive and satisfying. i could see this drama lasting for all of season 6. in the end because these characters have grown, they would actually figure it out somehow. and then they’d have season 7 to settle down and be happy. i actually do love april but they could have made her a young sheldon type of guest character at yale and paris could have developed a soft spot for her or something.

literati in season 3:

so i feel like they wanted to show us that this is rory’s bad boy phase. they made their relationship about dean a lot and most of the episodes centered around them were like ooooh jess did this sucky thing and dean never would have. and i get that maybe they needed to try something new and didn’t want to just recreate the boyfriend storyline with a new guy (aka see how he fits into her grandparents world, saying i love you for the first time etc). they already did the good stuff with dean so they decided to make this rory’s bad decision and only came up conflict to show us. but they didn’t even fully commit bc rory didn’t change with jess the way she did with logan. that was her bad boy phase, literati was always supposed to be something more. so instead of showing how bad of a couple this was compared to dean/rory, they could have drawn different parallels. because dean/rory was not a perfect relationship and they could have shown how in some ways why this is better for rory. what does she want? not her grandparents and not her mom. after all the buildup literati was the audience’s favorite and most anticipated couple, so i really think painting it as an unexpected but positive change of direction in rory’s journey would have been worthwhile.

like show us how when they go on dates they want to do the same things (as opposed to donna reed or rory just watching dean’s games). show us how they both want their alone time and them not calling each other every day because rory wants to study and jess has to work can be an OK thing (as opposed to the infamous 14 calls a day). show us how jess maybe doesn’t fit into lorelai and rory’s flow as well as dean did BUT how that’s also ok because rory is getting older and going off to college so this makes sense. but then also show us some god damn character development and lorelai and jess actually learning to get along (pls make that an entire episode’s storyline actually. have them be funny together and make it emotional). and show us nice scenes with luke, lorelai, rory and jess. where was all of this when they were dating??? nowhere to be seen. although i would have liked for luke not to kick jess out (i will make another post of how i would handle jess and luke’s relationship in season 3) i know it had to happen because milo had to leave. and i wouldn’t change major plot points like that because i like jess’ arc too much. but if they had shown everything i wrote here, literati’s realtionship would have canonically been stronger and jess would have at least told rory about not graduating and his dad showing up and why he felt like he had to go before he went.

dean cheating on lindsay with rory:

actually i would have had lindsay push him in the lake luke pushed jess in but oops plot twist, dean can’t swim

[fabuloustrash05]

What is your honest opinion on the TMNT 2012 girls? In my opinion I don't understand a lot of the hate they get and they weren't even horrible or that badly writen. Yeah there were flaws in their writing but so did the other male characters have it as well.

I love all the girls! Some more than others. They all have their good qualities and I will admit even my favorites have flaws, but I blame the writer's more than the characters themselves.

This took awhile to put together and get my honest thoughts through, but here it is! Here’s my opinion of the TMNT 2012 Girls: April, Karai, Irma, Renet, Mona Lisa, Shinigami and Alopex!

April O'Neil

My opinion of April has changed throughout the years. As a kid first watching the series I felt indifferent towards her (I didn’t hate her but I also didn’t like her), then when the series was over I grew salty and began to hate her on rewatch. I became a toxic person because of my hatred for 2012 April, but lately I’ve grown to like her and appreciate her for the good things she’s done. I’m proud of her for how far she’s come in her ninja training. I think most of that change came from how ridiculously hated she is in the fandom when honestly she doesn’t deserve that hate. She's not the best or the perfect character, but some people make it their religion to hate on her and it's pathetic. I realized how toxic 2012 April haters are and I wanted to distance myself from that and I began to chat with 2012 April fans and things got better for me and my opinion of her change to something more positive.

My biggest problem with April still to this day is her relationship with Donnie and how it was handled. I disagree when people say she was manipulative towards Donnie and Casey cause honestly I can understand that she feels uncomfortable and awkward in this situation these boys put her in and is conflicted on how she should handle it, because in the end she is only a 16 year old girl and both Donnie and Casey are still her friends that she cares about. Now her kissing Donnie at the farmhouse, I was mad at her for, but that was a dumb decision on the writer's end. That choice made it come off that April is leading him on, but honestly Donnie is not perfect either and he is just as bad when is comes to this relationship, but this post isn't about Apritello, it’s about April. If you wanna know how I would've handle Donnie and April's romance, you can check it out HERE.

I fully blame the writer's on this one, but I feel April's plot with her family's connection to the Kraang, her mom missing, and her being a half Kraang herself was totally wasted and forgotten by the 3rd season. They were doing good build up to it but then I feel they completely dropped it and forgot about it by season 4 and onward. My guess is the writer's didn't know where to go on from there so they just ignored it for the rest of the series hoping we wouldn't notice. Her have psychic powers is cool but feels totally random and out of place at times. Yeah, Kraang Prime has psychic powers too but most of April's Kraang heritage plot often leaves more questions than answers. Another thing is I wish she was given more Kraang features as the series progressed. I see a lot of fans today draw her with Kraang like eyes or tentacles coming out of her head and neck and it looks really cool! Let my girl embrace her alien side!!

Karai

She used to be my all time favorite character in the series, her intro episode is what got me into fully watching the rest of the series. So I thank Karai for being the reason I really got into TMNT. I loved her, but after rewatching the show a few times, I would see her choices and just wonder “what the hell was she thinking?” She does so many dumb decisions as the series goes on and it begins frustrate me. She had two opportunities to go back to her real father and be a family with him and her turtle brothers, but instead she is blinded by her vendetta against Shredder and wants to overthrow his empire. Now that is a cool concept, Karai taking over the Foot, but when she returned in season 4 it just feels out of no where and I feel I skip a whole arc or season. I wish they gave her more time to grow and we see her come to this decision instead of it just happening. Side note, but I love how even before the reveal, Karai acts like a teasing older sister towards the Turtles. Her dynamic with Donnie, Raph and Mikey is rare to see but you can see that they care about her and she cares about them too and I love it.

Her snake form was very cool and had a creative design, though that whole arc of trying to find her and then her being brainwashed was pointless filler, such a waste of time. How she out of no where mastered her turning from human to snake at will was so random. The whole brainwashed Karai arc in general didn't need to happened!

I feel I'm obligated to talk about it, but Karai's biggest flaw, as well as it being TMNT 2012's worst quality, was her relationship with Leo. What were they thinking with that shit?! If they wanted Leo to have a crush on the enemy that's fine! That can be good drama, but why then throw in the twist that his crush is also his sister and continue to push a romance between them in the same episode when they are acknowledged as being family?!! Such wasted potential for them to just be enemies who respect one another that grows into a friendly rivalry that becomes two siblings looking out for one another, but still like to get on each other's nerves. Beside that mess, her and Leo do have a fun and good dynamic, when it isn't being ruined with forced uncomfortable romance. I also wanna add I like her dynamic with April and parallels between the two girls. Overall, I like Karai, but she could've been better.

Irma/Rook

I'm adding "Irma" to the list cause she counted as a character for a short while before the twist and she did technically come back in season 4. I liked Irma, she was funny, quirky, and her dynamic with April and Casey was fun to watch. I liked her banter with Casey, it always made me laugh. I'm honestly still disappointed that it was revealed Irma was not even Irma but was just a robot controlled by Kraang Sub Prime. All that hope to see Irma befriend the Turtles was destroy for me.

I am glad they were able to find a way to bring back Irma in the form of the Utrom Rook in season 4. She had little screen time but she always stuck out to me for some reason. Also, wasted potential of not having April meet Rook and for her to have a heart to heart with her about the friend lost because Rook looks like her old best friend.

I actually did a whole rewrite of how I would've handle the Irma is robot twist and still keep her as a character: LINK.

Renet Tilley

I love her so much! She's funny, entertaining and a total sweetheart. I love how she's a very bubbly and overall kind person but isn't afraid to punch someone right in the face. I like how she's perceived as dumb and naïve but is actually very smart and is usually the one saving the Turtle's from certain doom. I also love the little detail of her having a gap in her teeth. Really brings out the childish nature to her character. My favorite part about Renet is how much of a fangirl she is, literally representing the entire TMNT fandom. From first meeting them Renet has so much faith and trust in the Turtles because of what she's read about them in her history books. They are her heroes, she believes in them and knows in the end they'll save the day. The very concept of the Turtles befriend a time traveler from the future was another thing that was underused and could've open the door to so many cool new stories and adventures, but like many characters, she was underused and only came back when need, like for a Halloween special of all things. I'm really surprised Mikey or any of the Turtles didn’t mentioned her after the Earth was destroyed by the Black Hole Generation, remembering what she told them about how they've saved the world so many times.

I know some people find controversy with her romantic relationship with Mikey nowadays because of them both being from different time periods, but I still find their dynamic very sweet and entertaining to watch. As best friends or as romantic partners, you got to admit that they are fun to see together. She understands Mikey and never judges him for his weird antics/ideas and Mikey finds her quirkiness adoring and always makes sure she is safe.

A little nitpick I have is with her character design, mainly when we see her without her helmet. Her hair model design doesn't look good, like it looks like she's wearing a wig that they just slapped on her at the last minute. Which sucks cause in her concept sketches her hair looks very good, with having a more proper hair line, but since the braid crown is playing as her hairline in the 3D model it doesn't look good.

Also, technically Renet is the most powerful ally the Turtles have because of her weapon alone. Why does no one talk about that?? The Turtles are lucky that Renet is on their side.

Mona Lisa/Y'gythgba

SHE IS MY QUEEN AND I LOVE HER SO MUCH!! <3

Next to April, Mona Lisa also gets a lot of unnecessary hate, but I know why she gets hate. It those toxic whiney Raphael fangirls who can't accept the fact that he's fictional and is happy with an actual girlfriend so now they can't have him or ship him with their self insert Mary Sue OCs. A true Raphael fangirl, like myself, would be happy for Raph that he found someone who loves and respects him for who he is.

It's already obvious that Mona was another underused character in this series. I absolutely LOVE the space arc in season 4, but the concept of the Salamandrians, though cool, were very underused despite the Turtles fighting a Salamandiran before (Newtrailzer). If you ask me, Mona and Sal should've been more present during the space arc and they should've been there helping the Turtles when they were fighting the Triceratons on Earth at the end of the arc. This choice could've given the writer's the opening for Mona to start living on Earth sooner and join the Mighty Mutanimals during mid season 4 instead of saying she joined the Mutanimals in season 5 but never see her with them! (I'm still so mad that they got our hopes up that we'd see Mona interact/become friends with the Mutanimals only to find out that we will never see her again after When Worlds Collide) I have actually wrote a whole post on how I would've included Mona in more episodes, give her more time in the spotlight and her joining the Mutanimals sooner: LINK.

Mona being a lieutenant for the Salamandiran army already says a lot about who she is and what she has been through. You cannot tell me that this woman as killed people and has war trauma! Mona is an interesting character and her personality clashes well with Raph's, even before they became a couple, them butting heads shows what kind of person Mona is. She can be short tempered and stubborn like him and would often jump to conclusions, a fight first ask question later kind of gal. She loves to fight and is a very strong and skilled warrior. She is loyal to those she looks up to and respects like her commander and is a rule follower, but sometimes she loses control of herself and steps out of line, to which her commander has to hold her back. She cares deeply about the ones she's close to and especially shows how much she loves and cares for Raph. Most fans result her to just being a love interest, but she's still her own character and grows as a person from being with Raph. Honestly the push up scene was one of her highlights, not only for being hilarious and showing how in love she is with Raph, but also showing that she's more than a strict serious lieutenant. That scene reminds us that she's still a teenager and is acting her age, even she can't help but break her serious military persona once in a while.

I absolutely adore her and I'm so happy more fans today are growing to love her as much as I do! She's such a great character and its ashamed that we didn't get to see more of her in the show, but I'm happy with what I got.

Shinigami

My only criticism I have of her is that she is underused (I know I say that a lot) and I really dislike that she was forced shipped with Mikey. It was the most pointless decision they did for her character. You can just tell the writer's didn't know what to do with her so the made her a love interest as well thinking that would make her more interesting. That was a dumb decision. Her and Mikey are not a good match for many reasons I won't get into, but here's what they should've done:

Not ship her with anyone cause we already had enough love interests by the time she entered the show.

Ship her with Leo instead of making him crush on his freaking sister. They already wanted him to have a crush on a female ninja from the Foot Clan who's a bad girl, why couldn't they hold it off until he met Shini instead of Karai?

Ship her with Casey as a way to give Casey a happy ending after that whole love triangle drama.

Ship her with Karai cause they were obviously already dating in the show! Shinirai forever!!

Regardless of that poor decision, I love Shini, her design is very gorgeous and creative, and her concept of being a witch brings something new to the series with magic and illusions. I feel there has been wasted potential with her not being involved during the Kavaxas arc, cause come on, she's a witch who specializes in dark magic. Why didn't they have her be attached to the Kavaxas cult in some way? Or have her know about Kavaxas and help the team stop him? Honestly I was convinced at one point that Shini was going to be a surprise villain and she was secretly loyal to Shredder not Karai and betray her during the finale. I made a whole post about it actually LINK.

Overall, I love Shinigami! Next to Mona Lisa she is one of my favorite female characters. I love seeing her teasing April and the others, especially towards her enemies, treating a battle like its nothing more than a game to her. Her loyalty and romance friendship with Karai I adore. She is such a fun character and underrated too if you ask me.

Alopex

She stole the show and she was only in one episode! Once again, another underused female character. Alopex is technically (not counting April) the first female mutant on the show (not counting Karai cause she's able to turn back), and we only get one episode with her. That should be consider a crime, but the episode she was in, she made a damn good impression. We learn of her and Tiger Claw's tragic backstory and you grow to understand why she is so hatful towards her brother for the life he put her through and him supposedly killing their parents. She establishes herself as a badass and continues to prove she is a badass throughout the episode. The way she cut off her brother's tail and later is arm without a second thought and then leaves shows shows how ruthless she is, but her sparring him also shows her compassion and her hope that one day her and Tiger Claw can be a family again.

Her line "Just remember, I could have taken your life" sent chills down my spine when I first heard it.

My biggest complaint is WHY didn't they bring Alopex back during the Kavaxas arc in season 5?! How cool would it have been if the Turtles recruited and teamed up with Alopex to take down her brother!

[maybirdie]

Horizon Asks

Thanks for the tags @singingkestrel and @meg-noel-art !

1. ride or die ship (your otp): Ereloy. As if that’s news to anyone lmao

2. most annoying ship: I see y’all trying to start drama, I’m not falling for it lmao. Oh wait actually...Talanah/Amadis 🤣

3. second favourite ship: Between Kotallo/Talanah and Abadund/Morlund. One for spicy, one for sweet. Also Petra and like, most of the women in the game

4. favourite platonic relationship: I love the big brother/little sis vibes between Beta and Erend even though we never see them interact really. I love that she mentions that he makes her laugh. Also Aloy and Gildun - obsessed.

5. underrated ship: Drakka/Yarra - LISTEN I KNOW but it’s the ultimate enemies to lovers and I love them. Also Avad/Ersa....starcrossed lovers ftw

6. overrated ship: more instigating I see

7. one thing i would change in canon: One? LMAO. So many things post-HZD. Particularly the way Erend got shafted and how many threads got dropped (we didn’t get a post-Daunt makeup scene? Really??). Also Talanah should have been an official GAIA gang member, hands down. And I’ll be honest, the way romance for Aloy was handled in general.

8. something canon did right: The entire arc of HZD is masterful and perfect and it’s been a long time since I’ve been that gripped by a mystery in any media. It was always going to be hard to top, but I would love if the next game reverted back to that kind of storytelling vs the “doing too much” trend of HFW

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom: A hard choice, but I think I have to pick Love Games just because it was such a labor of love between myself and @sorbetowl​. I had a blast collaborating with such a talented artist and friend! For that reason I’m SUPER excited to be working on the upcoming VN, Focus on the Heart - already such an amazing experience!

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): GILDUN GILDUN GILDUN GILDUN GILDUN

11. the character i relate to the most and why: Definitely Erend. There’s a reason I ship him with Aloy lol. I guess there are pieces of both of them I relate to hard - Aloy’s impatience with rude people/social situations and her love for solitude, Erend’s self-consciousness and sense of responsibility for keeping everyone happy and feeling good. The combo of them hits real close to home.

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: Tilda was a really tough character for me for personal reasons. She’s a wonderfully crafted villain but she also makes my skin craaaaawl. Which I suppose is exactly what she’s meant to do, so well done Guerrilla 😂

13. something i've learned from the fandom: God so much. I rolled into the Ereloy discord totally clueless back in April 2022, and feel like I have so much useless lore in my head now (and I’m not anywhere near some of the real lore people I know). But beyond lore, I’ve really learned how important empathy and putting yourself in other’s shoes can be. It’s amazing how many new friends I’ve made from being open to other people’s POVs, and how much I’ve seen people hurt each other because they’re not open to it.

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: Sensual Fingerblasting (iykyk), There Was Only One Bed, Sparring as Foreplay

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: Slowly by Olivia Dean, Can’t Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon cause what better Friends to Lovers song is there?

tagging: No pressure tags!! Also sorry if this is a repeat for anyone. @souls-that-have-senses, @sorbetowl, @imamandajulius, @emtazer, @brekkie-e, @cranialgames, @nerd-artist, @xxxhellfireravenxxx 

[eglectic]

Breaking my back? No. Back from my break.

Here’s basically what I’ve been up to:

This past month I’ve allowed myself to indulge in foods not normally on my protocol, and I’m getting back in the swing of it all. I did gain 10-15 lbs in the process, but I learned a lot. Honestly, a lot of the food just doesn’t hit the same anymore. I’ve continued working out although maybe not going as hard as I was in December for some of it. I allowed myself to relax a little in January but now that February is in full swing, I’m coming back better and stronger than ever.

I’m also changing the focus of this blog a little. I’ll post maybe weekly summaries on Sundays about my fitness journey and progress, but since this journey is about learning what is going on with me when I’m not overeating and who I am outside of food, that’s also what I’ll post about here. Just like I don’t define myself as a non-smoker, even though I am not a smoker, I don’t want my eating habits or my weight to be the crux of my identity.

I moved out of my crazy housemates’ place! Literally today I moved in with a gracious and amazing friend here in Marathon. That’s pretty much the biggest stressor I dealt with over the last month. They told me at the end of December to move out by February 1st. Then after talking we agreed I could stay through February. Then, my friends loaned me a scooter to get around town. Within not even 12 hours of having it there, my housemates’ dog chewed on one of the handles, and when we discussed it they didn’t like my tone. So they gave me two weeks to move out. I guess it IS pretty rude of me to not be happy about that! Silly me! I should have hugged them and thanked them for allowing their dog to damage my/my friends’ property! Maybe I should have tried their definition of politeness — I should have moved someone (a recently jailed person who has been known to be addicted to drugs and steal to pay for them) in without talking to them about it, or eaten their food without asking, or worn their shoes, or damaged their property, and then gotten mad at them for not loving that.

Part of me thinks they let their dog do that on purpose. Anyway, they definitely take the crown for my least favorite people I have ever lived with! And I lived with a literal Nazi last year! But at least that guy, even though I totally disagree with him on so many important issues, minded his own business and wasn’t all up in my shit. And he never tried to dictate how I should feel, as if anyone ever could. I’m not saying he’s a better person than my housemates, just a slightly better roommate. My housemates are probably good employees, maybe good family members, probably good partners to each other, but as roommates/housemates to me they sucked. Ultimately though, I wish them well. At the end of the day, they didn’t hurt me. They’re just a speck in the tapestry of my life. Soon they’ll just be another kind of wild story I get to tell. Living with them I learned a lot about myself and how I can show up even when I initially feel disempowered and disrespected in a situation.

Finally, and this is the most exciting part to me — I’m moving out of the Florida Keys in April! I love it here so much and it’s already so bittersweet, but I’ve been feeling the pull to leave for a long time now. I’m going to spend a couple weeks in Lithuania, then travel around Europe (not sure where to yet or what modes of transportation) before going to work in Ibiza for the summer. Truthfully, I’d rather not spend all summer in Ibiza. I’d rather move to Madrid or Valencia and live there for a couple years or more, but living and working in Ibiza all summer seems like a fantastic back up plan to me. I’ll get to meet lots of cool people from all over the world and even though I’m not a huge partier and I’m pretty much always sober, I love to go out dancing.

I’ve been doing light research about life in Madrid and Valencia and I’m already thinking maybe I should just make that my permanent home. But then I wouldn’t have Amazon and I wanted to try out Rent the Runway! Haha. Plus the entertainment industry is essentially in America, so I don’t know if I could reach my artist/media creator goals while living in Spain. We’ll see. If nothing changes, my plan is to travel around Spain after Ibiza and look for a job. One thing for sure, though, is that I want my income, my savings, and my investments to continue increasing. And based on how it’s shaping up right now, it WILL be an epic, luxurious, and rewarding year.

[microstmnt]

Micro’s TMNT (Part 1)

This whole segment would explain how the turtles got their (first severe) scars, wich you can see in their character designs

Okay, technically the story wouldn’t start here, but this segment is the one that I have given way too much thougth, and the more I think about my version of TMNT the more I realize that I didn’t do anything extremely original, it’s more of a “hey what if the turtles got severly traumatized but actually did something with it and got help?” wich... fair, that’s 80% of the fandom. So that’s how the “Battle Nexus arc” was born. AKA the only “arc” that I actually have thought out...

----

So it would start with Leo freshly 17 years old (R and D 16, M 15). Things with the Foot Clan have gotten worse by the day and the Shredder knows of the existence of the turtles. Leo and Raph are constantly butting heads over how to handle the situation, and one particular night their fighting escalates to the point of turning physical, Splinter separates them and tells Raph to go cool off (SIDENOTE: I love angst and Raph is my favorite boy, so there’s a whole pre existing fear from Splinter (Yoshi actually) that Raph’s anger could result in him “turning evil” since Raph reminds Yoshi too much of Saki when they were still friends, it’ll be explored later don’t worry). Raph leaves and when he doesnt return the following night the rest of the boys start to worry, so they turn to April and Casey to see if they’ve heard of him, they come out without any answers. Suddenly one of Don’s machines starts beeping and upon investigating they find it’s Raph’s tracker that is going off

Leo: Tracker? When did you? Mikey: And without our consent? Donnie! Donnie: Look, it only activates like this when there is a massive spike in heart rate, we can argue about this later!

They managed to pinpoint Raph's location to an  "abandoned" laboratory, Leo agrees with his brothers that it's most definetly a trap but they need to get Raph back, Splinter decides to go with them and April and Casey decide to go as well claiming that Raph is also their brother, Leo is unable to persuade them otherwise. They take the battle-shell and upon arriving they realize the place is massive so they all separate. Leo and Splinter take the roof April and Casey take the first building closer to the battle-shell, and Mikey and Donnie take to the second building: This next part all happens at roughly the same time (they're all gonna go through it, don't worry)

Leo and Splinter are at the roof trying to get a good clearing of the place (wich is deserted, hmmm), there they find Karai in company of a rat that Splinter inmediatly recognizes as Twig; his old rat companion, Karai and Leo argue, with the first one basically begging them to just leave and Leo refusing because they're looking for their brother, Karai looks puzzled. Splinter doesn't know how to react and the rat accompanying Karai is not saying a word either. Shredder appears (Oh shit. No one was ready for SHREDDER to appear, they expected a trap, they expected Karai, but Shredder?), Splinter begins to panic, split between the fear for his sons lives and the anger he feels as Yoshi for this is the first time they meet since that fateful day. Shredder... feels off, in fact everyone feels off, he orders Karai to attack Leo and she complies, but without her usual bravado, Splinter tries to interject between Karai and his son, but Twig gets in between first forcing Splinter to fight him instead, quickly subduing him Karai and Leo fight, with the former being a far better swordsman (swordswoman?), she manage to cut Leo in the face, cutting his mask in half wich quickly taints red from the blood, but she stops there unable to kill him, Shredder notices Karai's doubt and shoves her to the side, deciding to put an end to the turtle himself. Twig gets in between the two and tries to appeal to Oroku Saki, letting him know that he is in fact also Tang Shen and that during the last 14 years she's seen how Saki lost himself more and more to the armor he is wearing right now, and that is still not too late to just let it all go... Unfortunately Saki who seems fully lost to the armor just stops for a second, cocks his head to the side and strikes anyway, given Karai just enough time to get in between Shredder and Twig, being stricken in her place... Twig realizes that perhaps Saki is too far gone and she's not gonna lose the last family she has, so he and Splinter attack Shredder willing to defend their children to the death, unfortunately the man is just too strong, so in a split second where Shredder is distracted by an explosion on the first building, Twig and Splinter retreat with their kids

April and Casey find themselves in the first building, that seems to work more as a werehouse than anything, seems desolated wich worries both of them cause that screams trap and sure enough Purple Dragons and Foot Ninja start coming out of the shadows, both April and Casey have some training and they hold themselves quite alright but the amount of people start to overwhelm them so Casey proposes they retreat to the Battle-shell and just start running people over, solid plan, up to the point where the Purple Dragons just start shooting at them, not quite caring who they hurt in the process (So anyway, I started blasting) They both take cover but Casey reveals that he got shot and is rapidly losing blood, in a panic April calls an ambulance giving them their location not even knowing if they'll be able to get there in time. With the Purple Dragons closing in on them April does the first thing that she can think of: make a molotov cocktail, she starts a fire wich buys them enough time to get out of the building (wich fucking explodes in their backs) and get to the battle-shell, Casey is barely conscious and April can barely contain the bleeding and as she gets to the truck a lose Foot Ninja that got out of the ensuing chaos sneaks up on them trying to finish Casey off, April notices this and hurries to stop it, during the struggle and because April is exhausted from the previous fight and carrying Casey, she gets stabbed in the stomach. The Ninja is about to slit her throat before suddenly getting struck in the back by one of Mikey's nunchuck

Mikey and Donnie enter the second building wich is where the laboratory is, the place is deserted and both turtles are completely focused and ready to fight hell and back to get their brother back. In one of the tables strapped to it is Raph, Mikey inmediatly goes to help him before Donnie can stop him, they remove the straps with little difficulty (and Donnie is extremely nervous, because why is this going so smoothly?), Raph seems a little out of it, but conscious and intact, Mikey offers Raph to lean on him and he does and the second Don lowers his guard, turns his back to his brothers and is ready to start the journey out of the building is when Raph attacks Mikey, taking out his sai and stabbing the orange boy in the arm. Mikey panics as his first instinct tells him that Raph is extremely mad at them, but that can't be, because even tho Raph has always had his anger issues he never hurt his brothers, but here is Raph attacking them and ready to kill for the looks of it. Donnie quickly interjects, keeping Michelangelo away from their Red brother who fights with the same fury he usually reserves to the Foot Clan. This tells Don that it is Raphael who they're fighting... Raphael keeps attacking the brothers who are avoiding him as best as they can and also try to pry the remaining sai from him, Michelangelo already not being the best help on account that he has a sai deep in his arm, so Donatello tries to keep Raph's attention on him. Raph stabs Don on the leg who uses the moment to finally pin his twin to the ground, Donnie notices that Raph is crying and then notices that there seems to be a slight bump and wound on his neck, that's when it dawns on him that Raphael is being controlled, he takes the sai from his wound and (apologizing profusely) stabs Raph in the wound on his neck, ripping the micro chip that was controlling him alongside a chunk of flesh, Raph inmediatly stops fighting back and Donnie hurriedly tries to stop the bleeding, crying the whole time. Flashback... to when the twins were younger and Raph kept proclaiming, quite proudly, that he was the older twin wich meant that if Leo wasn't there he was the one in charge of keeping his brothers safe, Don chuckles simply responding "Leo is always there"

Michelangelo hears an explosion and tries to keep Don from having a full blown panic attack so tells him that they need to get going, Don and Mikey grab Raph and start carrying him to where the battle-shell is located, as they get there they notice a Foot Ninja attack April, and before it gets ugly Mikey decks him out with his nunchuck, Don absolutely loses it when he sees both of them mortally wounded. Leo and Splinter show up accompanied by Twig and Karai, Leonardo takes one look at the scene unfolding in front him: Casey and April unconscious, Raphael on the verge of passing out and all of them with mortal wounds, Michelangelo and Donatello both seem to have been in quite the rough fight, Mikey with a sai stabbed through his arm and on the verge of tears, Don bleeding profusely from a stab wound in his tigh completely unresponsive even tho he seems conscious, Splinter hurries his sons into the battle-shell having to carry Raph inside, he signals to Twig and Karai to enter and before he manages to get to April and Casey the sounds of ambulance sirens cuts through the night, Leo tries to hurry in carrying his human friends into the truck but Splinter stops him telling him that the ambulance will be able to give them more proper care that they can and that they have to leave them behind, Leo shocked and horrified understands this, so they enter the battle-shell and Twig drives them out of there, praying to anything out there that Shredder doesn't follow them...

Back in the lair Splinter and Twig are tending to their children's wounds while giving them and each other a succint recap of what has been happening in the last 14 years. Don begrudgingly allows them to dress his wound but otherwise is quiet and doesn't allow anyone to touch him, keeping to himself. Mikey is stil reeling from the adrenaline and can't seem to stop crying. Raph, like Don, is keeping quiet and keeping his distance from his brothers. Leo as soon as his wound is bandaged goes out to the local hospitals to make sure that April and Casey are alive, he basically spies on them from the neighboring rooftops and then goes back to his family to announce that they seem to be in stable enough condition. Everyone seems to let out a sigh of relief an Twig announces that in their current situation they will be unable to defeat the Shredder, wich is why she is going to personally train them, and as he says this he opens up a portal that will take them to a different dimension, where they will be able to train without interruption...

[redemption-of-zuko]

It’s mid-2024.

I’m just on the verge of graduating (still in clinic for 3 more weeks, but done with theory!), I’m planning my wedding in exactly a year’s time, worrying about my bach party this December, thinking about the ADEX exams, hoping my friends and family are thinking of me and haven’t forgotten me, stressing about my living situation once I’m out of México, and just, in general, going through all the emotions of being at a *very* pivotal moment in my life.

My fiancé is taking a huge portion of his licensure exam in 1.5 months, and I’m excited beyond belief for him to finally get past that hurdle! I myself took the exam and passed in April, so I know he can, too. Now that classes are over for me, I’ve been doing my best to cater to him by cooking our meals, cleaning around the house, and giving him the space to lock in. But…

Today, I just had a sort of bad day. My appointment in the morning went well, but started off horribly. I left my wax rim at home and had to RUN at 7:50am to pick it up, rushed my appointment so that my patient could get to work by 9, and then I was told by the lab that they needed certain documents from me which required me to go back to school and ask for signatures. It worked out because I needed to pick up my total case anyways, but STILL so fucking annoying.

After that, I went to Fantasias Miguel to buy some crafts for my dad. I’m making him a bouquet of beers, chips, candy, and alllllla that for his birthday. Figured I could make something nice for the man who can afford anything he wants.

So while I’m out, I ask my fiancé to order some groceries and one of the ingredients was sandwich ham which goes for like less than 70 pesos here. The shopper couldn’t find the specific one ordered and asked if we wanted a replacement with a bougie 192 pesos ham and my fiancé approved it without thinking twice. I was finally over my bad mood as soon as I got home from centro but that put me in a sour mood again, and I’m all pissy. It’s not about the ham, it’s about the fact that he didn’t bat an eyelash at spending 192 pesos on ham. Or more like, he didn’t even know and just approved it without thinking. This is a small occurrence, but I wouldn’t be feeling such strong feelings if his money spending habits weren’t so bothersome to me. Because it completely is. It’s BOTHERSOME.

I have to hold my tongue so much because we’ll never see eye to eye… and I only stop myself because he’s spending his family’s money. He gets a good allowance every two weeks for him to spend on whatever he wants. His parents never take away from his account so I know that he can choose to spend or save. There are times where he’d have to wait a while to pay me back for rent (which is fine, it’s not an issue to me or my parents who finance me atm), but it makes me think, “Hmmm, if we stopped having food delivered as much, maybe he would have had enough money?” But it’s hard because our school really gives us no time to breathe, so I understand coming home and not having the energy to cook or clean. Yet, we can game and watch movies? I don’t know. It’s all temporary bullshit, but I can’t help but feel nervous for our future. I really can’t handle a big spender as a partner when I’m very much a spend-thrift and trying to build generational wealth. I guess it’ll come to a culmination when we’re both making our own money (which is really soon…). Which is why I’m trying to nip it in the bud while we’re young?

I also just don’t have anyone to talk to. I’m lonely. I feel like I can’t reach out to friends and family because I don’t want to influence how they feel about him. He’s the love of my life, I don’t want to vent about him to people who love him and vice versa. I’m in this strange limbo, and I’m starting to feel genuinely crazy.

[eliaswoodt]

I posted 577 times in 2022

That's 493 more posts than 2021!

91 posts created (16%)

486 posts reblogged (84%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@goggles-mcgee

@0xeyedaisy

@shittymarblehornetsaus

@dycefic

@muppet-wizard

I tagged 573 of my posts in 2022

Only 1% of my posts had no tags

#rebloged - 447 posts

#art - 213 posts

#digital art - 149 posts

#fanart - 139 posts

#my posts - 99 posts

#resident evil - 79 posts

#harry potter - 76 posts

#re - 73 posts

#marble hornets - 67 posts

#ethan winters - 62 posts

Longest Tag: 129 characters

#(not tagging unreality bc this is true! on ao3 theres fanfiction under the tag goncharov (1973) dir. martin scorsese - beelzeebub

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I can’t help but not see Eveline solely as a villain. As this terrible monster who was a monster from the start, and was destined to be a monster. A killer waiting to happen. She is a child. A child who did terrible, horrible shit but who is a victim as well.

But I totally understand where Ethan and Mia are coming from, the both of them are hurt, and scared and angry and Eveline who has done a good number of harm, who is portrayed by Mia, Zoe, and the Connections as a monster is standing right there. So very easy to blame.

I bet Mia blames Eveline to take away some of the guilt from herself. Because if Eveline isn’t this monster who doesn’t feel real emotions then that means Mia had participated in, or at the very least was complacent in, the abuse of a child. Many would not be able to handle that type of guilt, and Mia is flawed like everyone else. She might even try to excuse some of the shit the Connections have done, in order to feel less guilty, about what she’s done for the corporation and for what happened to Ethan.

I believe Ethan to be in the same boat as she is. It’s easier to accept a black and white view of things, and not see the ambiguity of a situation. It’s much easier to just hate the person who hurt you and or the ones you love instead of thinking about how that person is also a victim. Usually recognizing that makes their feelings more complicated, it makes them feel guilty for the hate they feel and the hurt they feel and it makes it so hard to feel justified in your trauma. Accepting that person also as a victim, might make them feel as though their trauma is invalid and they are wrong to feel that way even though they aren’t wrong to feel hurt.

Also choosing to see Eveline as this monstrosity probably made it a lot easier to kill her in the final battle of re7.

19 notes - Posted November 7, 2022

#4

Evan didn’t die by Vinny that day

he actually died from all the peanut butter cups Habit ate

37 notes - Posted June 20, 2022

#3

I find the idea of Karl being one inch shorter then Ethan so unbelievably hilarious

Like, there’s just so much untapped humor with the idea that Ethan is one inch taller then Karl

Ethan being 5’11 and Karl 5’10, both being over-average height and yet Ethan is taller with one inch it’s so funny to think about. Enough with these Karl is 6-something-foot —no he is 5’10, just an inch shorter then Ethan, and it pisses him off.

He is Short and Mad About It

95 notes - Posted August 27, 2022

#2

I can’t help it, she’s a kid

135 notes - Posted October 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Wilbur & Techno who are piglins: *looking at this basket that has a tuft of shiny gold strands* “Whoa”

Baby Tommy: *pokes his head out of the blanket and yawns*

Wilbur & Techno: “Whoa!”

…they steal child from basket.

145 notes - Posted April 9, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[cupcakeslushie]

In the Seperated AU, how does Ralph try to help his brothers emotionally? Obviously he tries to be gentle and patient with them, but what direct actions does he take to try and heal them?

Sorry this might be long but I’m having so much fun with all these asks!

It’s hard at first for Raph, cause I imagine he’s got a bit more of a temper—I love the fandom theory that he was once accidentally too rough with one of his bros and that he had to learn to control his temper early on because of his size. But here he didn’t have that, and his only practice is dealing with the times when April was mad at him for something, but you can hardly compare an argument about which Jupiter Jim movie is the best, to his bros’ situation, so he’s a bit out of his depth at first. He tries to watch out for what sets them off and when they do need comfort he learns through trial and error what works best for each one.

For Mikey, being betrayed by Big Mama and thrown in the Nexus really affected his ability to trust people. He and Raph have a year just the two of them to get really close, and for the most part, Mikey is able to handle his recovery himself. He dives into self help books and reads all he can on healing traumas. But when he does need help, his preferred method is being held and bundled up. He was pretty spoiled in his early years and then went without soft things for so long, so he loves cuddle piles and blankets and pillows, so he, Raph, and April will just huddle together and watch something relaxing, on low volume.

Raph has a harder time being patient with Leo and Donnie. Leo is like a brick wall at first and when he’s not, he’s pretty terrifying. But when Leo gets angry he likes his space, and the boys give it to him. Leo never had any form of autonomy as Shredder’s second in command, and he was always being watched by someone. But when Leo stalks off in a rage, Raph will always make sure to have something nice waiting for when he comes back, whether it’s some sort of sweet treat, or a comic book he knows Leo secretly loves, or some cool little trinket. Leo never had possessions or anything of his own, so the little gifts do a lot to endear Leo to Raph in the beginning and then over time it evolves from gifts to Leo returning and searching Raph out for them to talk and or spar in good fun.

Donnie is a mess of emotions, and the most unpredictable. As much as I love loser, reformed Draxum, he’s a straight up villain in this AU. He spent Donnie’s entire life telling him about the brothers and man who abandoned him, and lamenting how he got stuck with the weak soft shell. He was never impressed by Donnie’s intellect, and was constantly critical and extremely harsh in his punishments for what he considered failure. So Raph will always try to give Donnie as much praise as possible. Which does not go over well at first. Donnie doesn’t know how to accept any form of sincere kindness and it takes a long time for him to stop looking for deception and instead, start seeing the truth in Raph’s words.

[itjazzbicch]

No Lies

Pairing: Ezekiel x Fem Reader

Summary: After returning from an injury and a small hiatus, the reader’s happy to be back into wrestling, but what she doesn’t is expect is Ezekiel to be the first person to run into, asking if she can assist in his claim against Kevin Owens that he is truly, Elias’s younger brother, but the reader is hesitant because Elias is the ex-boyfriend who broke her heart, but being kind at heart, she helps him and learns something new, making sure Ezekiel isn’t lying to her…

Warnings: SMUT! (18+ ONLY!)(Swearing, Oral Fem Receiving, unprotected sex)

Requested by: No One (But I hope you all enjoy it!)

(First time writing for Ezekiel so I hope I did well!)

Word Count: 2.8k

Tag List: @demonqueen29 @peachy-satan00 @new-zealand-chic @crowleysqueenofhell @unoficialy-married-to-ace-austin @thatpanpal @damnnhausen @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @linziland13 @xxx-jazz-xxx @writtingrose @whenimakeitshine1234 @cuzimacomedian @april-jeanette-wagner

I DO NOT OWN THIS GIF:

We all need a break sometimes and I took quite a hiatus from wrestling. I was really afraid that I lost my love for wrestling after the crushing break up I had, getting injured on top of it all. A break was necessary.

My heels clicked with my head down, walking through the door and inside of the arena, all of that love I had for this industry came back. I grew a small smile, raising my head up when I noticed there were eyes on me, everyone shocked to see that I was back.

I held my head up high, getting excited at the sound of the theme song going off, able to hear the crowd along with it. I wasn’t wrestling just yet, there was office stuff I had to handle first, but an unexpected situation came along.

“Y/N?! Is that you?!”

The voice scared me a little because of who it reminded me of, having to take a deep breath, but it was just Ezekiel. Seeing him was a little weird considering he was Elias’s younger brother and Elias was also my ex-boyfriend, the one who broke my heart.

“Hi Ezekiel,” I said softly, ready to go along, but he came and hugged me:

“You’re finally back! It’s nice seeing you!”

Alright, he was being way too nice to me. I only nodded and of course he kept the conversation going:

“You returning tonight?”

“No,” I informed, “Not just yet.”

“No? What a bummer,” He gasped, hands on his hips then pointing to me, “You are a star and the fans will FLIP when they see you. Don’t you miss those pops?”

“Yeah,” I actually smiled softly while thinking about it, “I do.”

“I can help you with that actually,” He smiled, an idea in his mind and the look in his eyes did catch my curiosity and he could see that, “It involves doing me a small favor, though.”

I immediately rolled my eyes because I already knew that it was going to be about his whole feud with Kevin Owens; Kevin not believing that Ezekiel was actually, Ezekiel.

“Please don’t give me that look,” He pleaded, “You know that I’m not Elias. I have fought him, passed a lie detector test, everything! And he still doesn’t believe me. But you? You know that I am Ezekiel and not Elias. Please just help me out with this. You’re the ONE person who can prove it since Elias is, you know-“

“I know,” My eyes closed, sighing and debating on the situation. It wasn’t Ezekiel’s fault that his brother was a douche to me and if I were him, Kevin would be driving me crazy too, being generous at heart, I couldn’t tell him no:

“Alright fine. I do have some things to take care of so, how’s this going down?”

“I imagine that after my match, Kevin will show his face,” He explained, “So, just watch and when I say that I have the perfect proof, just come on down.”

“Okay, I’ll be watching,” I nodded, turning my head and going to where I needed to be.

I didn’t like being generous sometimes. Things were just so weird with Ezekiel because of Elias and the feelings I was going through, I couldn’t understand.

But I kept my word, watched his match and just like he predicted, Kevin made his way back out, raving and ranting like usual.

“Kevin, what on earth do I possibly have to do to make you believe that I am Ezekiel, NOT Elias?” Ezekiel was out of breath, but forming a smile because of the card we had to play on Kevin.

“I won’t believe it till I see Elias standing next to you!” Kevin yelled, “I want to see Elias in order to believe this stupid lie that you keep dragging on!”

“Unfortunately,” Ezekiel disappointed him, “Elias isn’t here, but I do have someone who can prove to you that I am not Elias.”

Ezekiel threw out his hand towards the ramp, Kevin turning back confused and much like Ezekiel said earlier, the crowd POPPED when my music hit.

I was so nervous, hiding the shaking in my legs when I made my way out, putting on the best fake smile I could, heading to the ring.

“Welcome back, Y/N,” Ezekiel smiled, sitting on the ropes for me.

“Y/N?!” Kevin gasped, still crazed, “Please don’t be on this too! He is a DAMN LIAR!”

“Kevin,” I breathed, taking Ezekiel’s microphone, “Can you not scream like a mad man for like five seconds?”

I had all eyes on me when I began to speak, looking Ezekiel to show that I was on his side to help him prove himself, stepping up to Kevin:

“As much as you don’t want to believe it, Ezekiel is Ezekiel. Not Elias. So, do the whole world a favor-“

“Did you two get back together and plan this shit?” Kevin quickly assumed, “Real funny how you’ve came back in the middle of all this, saving your man, huh?“

“Elias isn’t a man, he’s a bitch,” I growled, getting in Kevin’s face.

Any time I thought about Elias, all of my broken heart pieces crumbled into more pieces, emotions too hard to fight. So I didn’t fight them, ready to fight Kevin, even pulling out my phone and showing him a photo of Elias, Ezekiel and myself.

“I have been around Ezekiel while I was with that miserable asshole. There’s the proof and I know one thing, I’ve been called lots of things, but never a liar. So AGAIN, stop acting like a mad man, do the world a favor and cut the crap.”

Even Ezekiel was taken by surprise when my sudden aggression was being shown, a look that could kill in my eyes and refusing to leave.

“There’s a cool thing called photoshop if you didn’t know, Y/N,” Kevin pointed to my phone, slapping my hand and my phone out of it, “I AM SO-“

Before he could finish, Ezekiel moved me and punched Kevin dead in the face, picking up my phone and snapping quickly:

“Don’t you ever put your hands on her!“

I had to watch Ezekiel’s reaction closely, amazed because not even Elias has ever stood up for me like that. Ever.

Now we were both pissed off, but ready to leave it at that when Ezekiel took the microphone back and finished:

“I am not Elias and there was the proof. Also, I wouldn’t get back up if I were you.”

Ezekiel was still being kind, escorting me out of the ring and backstage, noticing how I was shaking, breathing heavy and full of emotion.

“Y/N, please let me apologize for what he did,” Ezekiel took me to my locker room, holding the door, “I know he’s crazy, but I didn’t expect that.”

“Don’t apologize for him,” I breathed, “I just-“

“It’s a sensitive subject,” He knew, clearly upset that about how that went down and how I was reacting, not looking to him when he spoke, “But you know-“

“I know that you are obviously yourself, yes!” I interrupted, needing to get this off my chest, “But Ezekiel, you realize that you are blood brothers and you’re almost identical to him. You’re built the same, your voice is almost identical. I know it’s not your fault, but you know what he did to me and it’s hard. Being injured on top of all it? It broke me.”

I was holding back tears and wasn’t trying to come off as rude or anything, I truly couldn’t help it. Thankfully, he understood that, whispering softly;

“I know, Y/N. I know.”

He was kind to me before and after my breakup with Elias, continuing to prove that when he pulled me into a hug softly.

Somehow he observed that hugs helped me, giving A good one and as I let him hug me, I took in all the vibes and feelings.

Nothing like Elias, able to feel every true emotion and that he was just trying to comfort me.

“I’m sorry that this is your first night back and you’re nearly crying,” He felt guilty, rubbing my back softly, “But thank you for doing that. I will make it up to you.”

The wall around me that I built was tall and thick, telling him:

“I’m gonna need more than words, Ezekiel. I don’t really believe people’s words anymore. Just being honest.”

“I get that,” His voice grew more cheerful, “As a matter a fact, I’ll thank you, make it up to you, and make you feel better. All at the same time.”

“Yeah, sure. How will you do-“ I went to stand up straight and got smacked with a kiss.

It felt like the world stopped spinning, unable to move and when he kissed me, that same vibe from his hug was there and grew stronger.

I didn’t even realize that I was kissing him back at first, having to because he was a damn good kisser, a whole lot better than Elias, who was the last person who ever kissed me.

“That a good start?” He smiled against my lips, pulling back to look into my eyes and learn how blown away I was.

“Start?” I breathed in, air getting stuck in my chest.

It had been over a year since I kissed anyone, had any kind of intimate contact and I was relearning it again.

“You kissed me back,” He chuckled, tongue darting across his lower lip, “And with how worked up you were, I think we both agree that you need to take your mind off things. Need to have a good time.”

“Good time how?” I was beginning to pant softly, nervous for a change when he played with the rim of my skirt.

“I mean,” He looked down with a smile, feeling the velvets softness, “I can show you what else I’m capable of.”

I didn’t know what it was about him, but there was something that was picking up my broken pieces, filling the void in me, even while nervous. His kiss, the tone of his voice, now playing with my skirt, it was making my blood run hot.

“You think you’re good, huh?” I put up, trying not to be so easy because I definitely had my own fire of dominance, it just wasn’t sparked. I felt so open to him.

“Only one way you’re going to find out,” His hand pushed up my skirt a little, asking, “What do you say?”

“Guess there’s nothing wrong with relaxing a little,” I let my lace panties fall, stepping out of them and back to the couch.

I could feel how tempted he was and that the temptations were buried deep, for a long time. The way his hands got so excited, all over my skirt to pull it over my hips and sit me down, dropping down to his knees and diving right between my thighs.

“Damn,” I breathed deeply, sitting myself in a good position to watch, seeing him get lost in his mind, mouth closing around my clit and sucking hard, letting his tongue fall down my folds to take in the taste.

It was so hard to fight my moans, turning into whines while his tongue was up and down, swirls and inside, starting to overstimulate my clit.

“Are you even breathing down there?” I wondered, amazed by the things he could do, moans and whines reaching high notes, his response being his mouth completely eating me out, only burying his head deeper, earning something even his own brother didn’t.

“Ezekiel,” I cried out hard, not able to breathe, thighs squishing his head and taking a handful of his hair, grinding against his face that followed along, opening his mouth wide to take my orgasm.

Resting my hips, I was shaking and catching my breath, but his humming gave off an intense moment of bliss, taking the time to savor and enjoy it, wiping his chin when he finally picked his head up:

“Having a good time?”

“A great time,” I breathed, letting my head fall back, “Got damn, Ezekiel. That was- wooo.”

“Woo,” He rose to his feet slowly, giggling at my reaction and noticing my eyes fixing on the line of his erection, how hard it was pressing against his spandex trunks, “Like what you see?”

From the blue eyes, down to his defined, muscular physique, abs building in, thumbs in his trunks and pulling to show off the v-line along his inner hips, length of his cock that was ready to be freed.

“Hell yeah,” I breathed, so focused on the sexiness his body had, jumping slightly and gasping when he pulled his trunks down and his cock slapped my clit.

I met his gaze, confirming if he was ready, no protection and the little smirk on his face confirmed it, but before I let it go further, I asked softly:

“I have to ask you a question and don’t lie to me.”

“Anything,” He nodded, holding himself back, emotion flooding him when I asked:

“Have you always liked me this way?”

“Yeah,” He mumbled, professing, “I hated watching you get treated like crap when this whole time, I could’ve been making you happy, getting you in a great place like this.”

His profession made my heart flutter, sitting up and pulling him to me for another kiss, his hand between us holding himself, chuckling when I watched him:

“What? Never had it raw before?”

“No, I haven’t actually,” I chuckled nervously, then smiling at his tip meeting my entrance that was already tight, circling softly, “And, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you cuss, let alone talking like that. I like it.”

“Your last probably couldn’t last,” He chuckled back, kissing softly, “Just know, I’m full of surprises and I can go for rounds and rounds.”

“Give me one already?” My eyes gazed into the blue deeply, “I’m ready, Ezekiel.”

Squeezing his shoulders, I closed my eyes tight, really feeling the stretch due to my first orgasm, whining a little from the friction and feeling him inch his way up, body tensing up at how deep his cock was.

“So soft and warm,” He cooed into his kiss, rolling his hips to meet mine, making me do nothing but moan.

“You’re steaming hot,” My voice was breathless, lungs already feeling heavy from the sweet and slow started to turn into quick and immense.

“And your moans are so beautiful?” He listened, snapping his hips faster, “That’s steaming hot, Y/N.”

I only nodded, still adjusting and just enjoying myself, missing intimacy like I did had me taking in every little detail I could, especially since I’ve never had it this good before.

His words weren’t lies at all, with how fast he was going, never seen anyone go like he did, having me in small sweats, having to throw off my shirt to let my breasts breathe, only to moan more, body rattling at his mouth latching to my nipple and sucking hard.

“Fuck, why are you so good?” My words started to slur from the pleasure making my mind nearly drunk, hands all over him and hugging to keep my body from going so crazy.

“Guess I’m just gifted,” Leaving kisses along my neck and lead up to my ear, whispering, “That and I’ve been waiting forever to do this.”

“Don’t stop,” I began to beg, holding on for dear life, “I’m getting close again, Ezekiel!”

“I’ll get you there,” He held my hands and kept them pinned against my head to make up for his body drifting away from me, but his hips shifted and moved faster than ever, which made up for it.

I began to feel a small pinch that made my hips jerk, the heat in my tight stomach beginning to split and all the air in my lungs got knocked out with the screams of his name.

“Ezekiel, I think I-“ I tried to explain this new feeling, not sure what it was till my head grew faint, chest still pushing out moans and looking to see his cock thrusting through my wet slick squirting, walls pulsating and keeping him in deep.

“Oh my,” He panted, proud of himself, but also not expecting it, biting his lip, growling, “Got damn, that’s nice.”

Lifting my legs a little, he gave my ass a slight tap, slowing down and realizing that I was almost out of it, in dimension of bliss, soft thrusts helping me die down.

“When given the chance, we’re going rounds and rounds like you claim,” I smiled, briefly looking up to see his cocky smile:

“Just say when and I’ll make it happen.”

[moxfirefly]

Leo with prompt #8 please

Pretty pretty pretty please

With so many thank you on top. You're writing sends me into the best mood.

Aww shucks it always makes me happy to hear that!

Rated Explicit (18+ only)

Leo was an asshole.

Not just in general terms, an obvious statement that Raph could literally break his neck agreeing with you, but Leo was an honest to god asshole.

You wanted to throttle him. Possibly even slap him. Maybe knock over one of his bonsai trees.

Okay that would be cruel at the very least, guy loves his bonsais, but...

You felt another jolt rip through your body causing the drink in your hand to slosh about. Some of it spilled on the hardwood floor and by the looks of it Vern would have a coronary due to it. April placed a hand on your shoulder, concern in her eyes. “You alright y/n? You look a little in pain?” She was only looking out for you but the only thought in your brain was to just yell, ‘Leo is a fucking asshole’.

Speaking of said asshole, he was over by the billiards table, resting against it while Casey and Raph had their latest competitive bought. The blue banded leader was the very picture of innocence, hell he wasn’t even drinking the god damn boy scout. “Hey Leo, you ready to get your ass handed as soon I finish handing it to your brother” Casey rested his weight on the billiards stick, possibly another coronary for Vern who had them imported from some fancy woodwork place.

Leo was busy looking at his phone, his thumb running across the screen in a nonchalant flick. “Might have to rain check that one, Case” His expression was neutral, bored at best. “Oh come on man, my birthday my rules” The birthday boy in question frowned, even more so when a ball was knocked into the corner pocket where he was standing. “Sorry, chief Vincent has been texting me all night updates of a new case” He flicked his thumb more rapidly, Casey assumed probably pictures of the possible offenders.

“Are we working later?” Was Raph’s question as he lined up another shot, which Casey prayed he would miss. He didn’t naturally.

“I’ll let you know, but doesn’t seem so” Leo actually felt proud of himself, an honest to goodness lie out of his own mouth. You would be proud of him, if you weren’t busy glaring daggers at him.

The situation was the following, you had only yourself to blame, but it had occurred to you to incorporate some outside play with Leo. So, you had purchased a remote control vibrator, a fancy little egg shaped thing that was currently resting inside your underwear. It could be controlled remotely via a phone app and while Leo wasn’t big on public stunts like this, that reptile part of his brain was yelling in excitement.

Two hours.

Casey’s little birthday party had been active for two hours. Which meant a that Leo had been running dangerous circles around his phone screen and you were already forgetting how to walk and talk at the same time. Vern’s penthouse was a little more packed than the usual gang it could inhabit, a few off duty officers that Casey hung out with and knew the terrapins were there.

You had told April by now that your day of the month had come up and the cramps were just a little more harsh than usual. Knowing all too well those woes, she rubbed your arm affectionately. “You don’t have to stay if you’re too beat up” She was bummed out, it was fun to have a human female friend given her circumstances had her putting up with five testosterone filled men, four of which were literal giant turtles.

You shook your head with a smile. “And miss out on drunk karaoke? I’m good, I can handle- th-this” Oh that was dangerous, that was truly entering very dangerous territories. When your eyes landed on Leo, stupid smug brat with his pretty lips and holding his phone like the prized possession it currently was, you glared. Excusing yourself you made the slow walk towards Leo, he had been standing at the mini bar area (that you found clashed horribly in this man cave) looking quite proud of himself.

“I’m going to kill you” You stage whispered at him, a full smile on your lips. Your large terrapin boyfriend chuckled, phone at his side and his thumb making a series of swivels on it. A hand landed on his plastron, nails pressed harshly on the plates. “You look a little red faced, too much wine?” He turned slightly, reaching over the mini bar to grab a seltzer water.

“You are the biggest asshole at this party and that says a lot given that Vern lives here” The treacherous buzzing eased off when Leo took a second to unscrew the bottle of seltzer water. You took the opportunity to breath but just as he took a sip, he was back to swiping his finger. “May I remind you that you bought it and you told me to do this, I really don’t see how I’m the bad guy here” He left the phone on the small counter space, another brief reprieve.

“But if I’m the biggest asshole here, I guess I should live up to the title” He smiled, he honest to god gave you that typical sweet boy smile.

Before proceeding to basically DJ his phone screen with an index finger.

You pressed your face to his arm and prayed to god that, welll, just, fuck!

“Leonardo I can’t have an orgasm in public!” Your words were muffled by the skin of his arm, regardless the party was on full blast. There was a delicious thrill at the idea of it though, as Leo wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you close to him, you could make out just how much he had been enjoying this game.

He kissed your temple, nothing salacious about it, just a sweet peck.

Then his mouth fell closer to your ear.

"I don't give two shits that we're in public and people are watching."

Your eyes went wide, the intensity of the toy being put on full blast and Leo twitching his finger on the screen without any intention of letting up.

He hugged you closer to him, smiling against your temple as your grip became iron tight on his clothes. As the music got heavier and the chatter picked up, you did all you could do to muffle your moans of pleasure against Leo’s plastron, thankfully using the same thing to hide your face.

Because your eyes were rolling back and Leo didn’t seem to have any intention of slowing down. Even when Raph’s gaze landed on the pair, Leo just mouthed ‘cramps’ at him with a sad expression, the large brute made a sympathetic look before returning to his own on going conversation.

Only when he felt you start to tremble, incoherent babbling he could only make out to be begging, did Leo ease up to a soft rumble that only served to shock you from time to time. When you felt like your vision returned, you looked up at him all red faced and shakey breathing.

Leo petted your hair, smirking down at your slightly disheveled state. Surely this was going to be his favorite toy, even if it was currently back firing on him. He was hideously turned on and your warm body against him only served to make things worse for him.

But naturally you wanted some payback, since he had been a wonderful, delightful and merciless asshole.

“Sensei, please?” You whispered up at him, all pouty lips and innocent eyed. Inside you were grinning victoriously when he grunted and held you tighter.

Even when his eyes landed on the bathroom, you knew the real winner had been you.

[forever-rogue]

OH I HAVE AN IDEA like an angsty fic where bucky and reader have a miscommunication and it causes a fight between them and they are both like ???? “we’ve never yelled at each other ??? what is this” AND IDK I JUST WANT ANGST

So, head empty, very little thoughts, but I hope this works and you like it 🥺

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You sang along to the music that was playing softly in the background as you showered and got ready for your day. You’d had a late start, easily giving into Bucky and staying in bed for just five more minutes, which had really turned out to be almost another hour. The good thing about being the boss was that you could afford to be late every once in a while. Bucky was in the kitchen, whipping up a quick breakfast before he too needed to leave and go about his day.

“Sugar,” he called out to you as you washed your hair. You could faintly make out his voice as you carried on, but figured you’d be able to make out what he was saying well enough, “I’ve got everything made and prepared just how you like it!”

You thought nothing of it for a moment and continued to wash your hair; but about halfway through the motions, you stopped in surprise. What had he actually said?

“Bucky? Bub, what did you say?” you quickly rinsed out our hair before pulling back the shower curtain as you tried to listen in. Had he really said he was mad?

“It’s all done! I’m done,” he called back as he covered your plate for you to find once you got out of the shower. He grabbed his travel mug of coffee and headed towards the door, giving Alpine a quick pet before leaving, “bye honey. Running late and gotta go - I’m leaving!”

“Bucky!” you almost slipped and fell as you tore back the shower curtain and almost jumped out of the shower. It was still running as you haphazardly grabbed a towel and darted down the hall and into the kitchen. But he was already gone; the only thing that was left behind was the faint smell of his cologne. Swallowing the nervous lump in your throat, you trudged back down the hall to finish your shower. You were already running late and whatever this was - whatever had just happened - would need to wait until later.

Had Bucky really just broken up with you in the midst of a shower? It sure seemed like it right now.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

A heavy sigh escaped your lips as you sat down and stared at your computer screen. You’d had the same spreadsheets and charts pulled up for the last two hours and made almost no progress. You swore that almost every single interaction you’d had with Bucky over the last week was playing on loop in your mind. You were desperately trying to figure out where you’d gone wrong, what had caused him to snap.

In an effort to alleviate your own fears, you’d texted Bucky to get a response from him and see what was going on. But you hadn’t heard back from him. You’d sent three messages before deciding not to bombard him. But still...if he was just up and leaving you after almost three years together, he owed you at least a small explanation.

You opened google and quickly pulled up an apartment search, already resigned yourself to the idea that you’d need to find a new place fast. Being around for too long would be too hard and you didn’t want to subject to more torture than necessary. And Alpine! You’d need to decide what to do with your beloved cat - Alpine loved you equally, how were you to choose who would get the fluffy little thing? And all the friends in common you shared...who would they side with?

“Fuck,” you groaned at nothing in particular and decided to focus on your work. At least that would keep you distracted and your brain focused on something other than Bucky. You would figure out everything else tonight. It would all be fine. This was no big deal; maybe your world was falling apart...but you would handle it. You always did.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

When you finally allowed yourself to go home that evening, you were shocked to find the lights on and Bucky in the kitchen. He was on the phone with someone, his new girlfriend or someone like that you immediately presumed, moving about the kitchen as he finished dinner. You choked up as you watched the domestic scene that was so normal to you by now. But this time, it felt so wrong.

You stormed in and for whatever reason, you decided that grabbing a pillow and throwing it at Bucky was a good idea. You picked the soft thing up in your arms and hurled at him, who suddenly realized you were home and yelped in surprise as he dodged the offending object. He raised his eyebrows in surprise as he pointed to the earbuds in ears as he turned back to the stove.

You were seeing red by now as you stormed in the kitchen and ripped his earbuds out. He was so stunned by your sudden actions, he jumped back and offered up a shocked look.

“What the fuck are you doing here!?” you shouted at him as you threw the buds on the floor, half tempted to stomp them, “how fucking dare you!”

“Sugar, what on earth are you talking about?” he grabbed his phone off the counter and ended the call without hesitation. Your chest heaved as you waited for some sort of explanation, “what’s going on? Are you alright?”

“No, I’m not alright! How on earth could I be alright?” you threw your hands up in exasperation as you tried to unsuccessfully hold back your tears. He was so calm and nonchalant about everything it was almost more frustrating than anything else.

“Okay...something is going on. Care to enlighten me?” he tried to reach up and wipe your tears away but you flinched out of his touch, “sugar?”

“Y-you! It’s you!” you cried softly as he motioned for you to explain just what it was about him that was the problem.

“What about me…?”

“You just break up with me this morning and tell me you’re leaving me and then you just come back like nothing has happened?” as soon as the words left your mouth, Bucky’s mouth dropped open. It was news to him that he’d broken up with you, “and you didn’t answer my texts all day! I deserve some sort of explanation!”

“I didn’t...I didn’t break up with you, Sugar,” he stated simply as you tilted to your head in confusion, trying to decide if he was pulling your leg or being honest, “why would I leave you? That makes no sense. I love you - I’m in love with you!”

“This morning,” you whispered softly, “you said you were done and you were leaving. When I was in the shower.”

His brows furrowed as he tried to figure out what exactly you were talking about. But then it hit him and he struggled not to burst out laughing. He gnawed on his lip as he fervently shook his head, “my sweet girl, you...well you heard me correctly, but incorrectly at the same time.”

“What? I-I swear…”

“What I said was breakfast was done and that I was leaving for work because I was running late too,” he explained as you tried to replay all that you had heard. Maybe...maybe you hadn’t heard him correctly at all - and in turn jumped to the worst possible conclusion, “I had to run...I’m sorry I didn’t come into the bathroom and say goodbye. Maybe that would have solved this whole thing.”

“You’re not..leaving me?” you asked as he just shook his head and took the opportunity to wrap his arms around you, “you still love me?”

“I find it both hilarious and concerning that you so easily thought I would just leave,” he kissed the top of your head as you held onto him as tightly as possible, “of course I’m not leaving. You never have to worry about that, sugar. I love you so much, silly girl. You sweet, silly girl.”

“I’m an absolute idiot,” you mumbled as you buried your face in his shoulder. You couldn’t believe that you jumped from A to Z so quickly and without a moment of hesitation, “I’m sorry, Bub. I feel like I wouldn’t blame you if you did want to leave me now.”

“Never,” he promised softly, “even if you do have moments of being ridiculous. Just like I do.”

“If I ever do something so dumb again,” you huffed as you pulled back and looked at those ocean eyes, “just smack some sense into me. But I...you didn’t answer my texts.”

“Texts?” he seemed genuinely confused as he reached for his phone and correctly scrolled through his messages. You could see that there were none from you, “what are you…I was in bad reception today. Blame Sam, that I was just on the phone with, for that one. They probably never came through. I’m sorry, honey. If they’d come in, maybe we could have avoided this whole situation, huh?"

“Some bad luck on top of it,” you hid your face behind your hands and sighed heavily, “James. I..I’m so sorry for everything. I just downright acted like a fool today. I don’t even know where to begin to apologize. I love you, Bub. I hope you can forgive me, but if not...I would-”

“Hey,” he put his hand under chin and turned your face up to meet his own. His smile was lilting and gentle and his eyes soft, “I love you. It’s alright done and forgotten. Are you hungry? Dinner’s just about finished.”

“I love you more than anything,” you whispered as he pressed a gentle kiss to your lips, “I just...my emotions were so all over the place today. Like out of control, A to Z. I don’t know what happened.”

“Shit happens,” he dismissed it with a slight scoff as he reached for some dishes, “I’m yours, sugar. Always.”

“Me too,” you agreed as you leaned against the counter, watching him with nothing but adoration. It was then that another realization - and possibly an explanation - hit you. It felt like a punch in the gut, “shit.”

“What?” Bucky asked as he started to plate dinner, “everything okay?”

“Yeah,” you smiled nervously, “just remembered something I forgot to do today.”

“As long as you’re alright…”

“I am,” you promised. You could worry about this later, “hey - I love you so much, Bucky. You know that right?”

“I love you too. Always.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

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[aeempress]

Apritello Express Evidences, part 2

Khem-khem, ladies and gentlemen, we shall continue out praising Apritello's episodes. And yeah, this part will be dedicated, in entirety just one episode.

Purple jacket. April and Donnie's episode.

I really love this piece of masterpiece, because it show April and Dee relationship, better reveals them as characters, and demonstrates their connection. (My previous points at this whole situation)

The episode begins with Donnie sneaking into April's school under the pretext of helping her. Soon, April stated the reason why she called D - her science computer project. Actually, she could take a photo of the code and sent it to Donatello, and I'm sure, he would send her the correct one right away, he's coder, he's prodigy, no probbles.

But still, April just asked him to come over and help her without stating any reasons. And he, indeed, came at speed of the light.

I want you to understand what exactly does that mean.

First: April is aware how much Donnie is into human culture. He wants to study in normal human school, do some average teen stuff. Especially, he is loving school and science-related stuff, all these science school projects, visits to botanical gardens, experiments and laboratory work. Because it's his field. It's exactly his domain, where he's good at. His family does not share his interest in science, and April is only one who can understand him. Probably.

Also, April know, how badly Donnie wants to go to school, which gives him an excuse, even if not the most solid one, but an excuse, nevertheless, to visit her school again.

Why again?

Because he has no problem navigating there. Donnie went directly to April's computer class.

He loves this place. And he'd already helped April with her projects.

Even so, knowing that every time she asked guys, especially Don, for help, it turned into a cataclysm, April still called him to help.

It's just a weird, indirect way to say, " Let's hang out, I know how much you like this whole situation with science, school and etc. Here ya go, buddy"

It seems like April did that to make something pleasant to him, something small, but nice to make him feel better. Because, as I state before - he likes to help April (praise, doing something useful for April - still counts as a motivation) and he likes school.

Second: khem-khem, D came at her school, as it seems, right away she called/texted. He didn't even know the proper reason, but c'mon: April ask for help, plus, her school. Sounds legit, don't you think?

Anyway, April has always been being the reason and excuse for teetles, but especially for Donnie. Clear? Clear. Good.

Donnie also tends to not think things through when he is excited. Because he went at the daylight in place, full of people just to help April.

ROTTMNT shows us how turtles were really afraid of human reaction and possible consequences. They have plan "H" to pretend they are going to Galaxy Con, brothers have explanation why they look weird and it's definitely not because boys are mutants, uh-huh, no, plus, guys go on surface at evening or night hours, when there are not so many people, and it's dark, obviously, to cover them and keep unseen.

Yeah, of course, Donnie seems more capable then his brothers to handle the surface (he has cash, D's dressed up as old ladies more than once, according to Leo, he was in April's school before, so yeah, no big deal) and I suspect that his friendship with April is one of the reasons.

Third: do you remember how April worried about looking "normal" when she was finally invited to a school party? She even forbade Mayham to appear nearby, just not to look like the lizard boy. Because cool kids don't bring pets to school. April doesn't have many friends, or rather, there are none at school, and she's been trying to solve this problem by getting close to Taylor Martin, the coolest girl in school.

And April O'Neil just calls Donatello, an objectively strange guy (since when is it normal to be a fan of school? Pretty questionable) in place, where her reputation is hanging in a balance. Our girl does not try to hide Dee, as it usually shown in shows for kids, and April do not pretend that she sees him for the first time in her life because, you know, Donnie will catch everyone's attention being himself and may embarrass her in front of her classmates. But no - April says with all her actions: "Yes, I know him. Yes, that dork is with me. And I don't give a damn about your opinion. Your problems, not mine. And yeah, I'm fine with him being here."

I mean it, guys. The devil is always in the tiny details.

The way they behave around each other.

Donatello is way more, MORE relaxed and just being himself: dramatic dorky nerdy ninja with current obsessions. The way he sneaked in school and April's classroom, the way he behaves alone with her is contrasting the way of his attitude while his brothers are near.

Don has a specific way to shown up. Instead of texting her, Donnie used shurekens. Yes, he almost fell off the lamp, but still, that's... quite an entrance he makes there.

April worries about him, when he fell from ceiling.

Our girl feel relaxed enough around Donnie, so she winks at him.

A wink is a fairly casual gesture that shows some expression of sympathy, trust, and togetherness. It's both good for saying "We're in same boat, we're team" and show the playful attitude towards someone. Isn't that an indicator?

Ironically, that being the best friends April and Donnie do not have any secret handshake/brofist/special greeting, as it usually the besties have at kid's series. Like Kendra and Jeremy have.

I can do only one possible logical conclusion: their relationship is far beyond "friends," "best friends," and "family".

Btw, about this certain phrase about secret five.

- Nay, fair April. A secret five[...].

Once again, nice wording, Donatello. Fair April? Maybe I'm too critical, but often when someone wants to convince their interlocutor and at the same time show one's condescension to them, it's usually uses "my dear ..." or something like that. I understand that semantically the difference is not very big, but in the first case, you can feel Donnie's personal attitude, even though he uses a book word. The second is just formal politeness, which emphasizes the difference between the rightness of the disputants.

This phrase were interpreted on official Russian dub as (okay, it's really hard to choose the correct word, because there's a lot of synonyms in English that sits quite well, while on Russian it's just one word, damn) "Нет, милая (No, honey/sweetheart )". Actually, a strange choice of wording, 'cause this is not what usually friends use to say to each other. We prefer use words like " my darling", "my dear", to demonstrate leniency. And again, most often this prerogative belongs to the older generation. Russians rarely throw around such words as "honey", "dear", "sunshine", because this deprives these endearments of any meaning, and a person using them, as a rule, is familiar. Of course, there are people who use them on a regular basis, but I HIGHLY doubt that Donatello is one of them. It's not his style.

But still, maybe I just too critical at this point.

April, as it is shown, have some kind of power to cool and calm him down and bring Donnie back to life reality.

1. Don awakes from his daze while heard April's voice

2. He's literally coming back to life, when April said about his broken jetpack.

3. Dee obediently interrupts his touching farewell to the jacket when April yells at him.

Oh, and his face. I remind you, fellas, we're talking about Donatello, "I really do not like to express emotions"-guy and "I will die if someone broke my bAbEyS"-guy.

And what do we see? Donnie's emoting. And feels free to do that. He's even drooling. (What seems kinda interesting without context, if you're understand what I'm talking about ;))

Dee doesn't seem angry about broken jetpack. And his wide smile, while he's assuring April he can fix it? A few minutes ago, he was steamed when his stuff was stolen, but when the jetpack was broken, he doesn't even raise an eyebrow. Very eloquent.

April is his support

April also supports Donnie whatever he's up to. Yes, she hadn't been excited when Othello had expressed a desire to join the club. However, she also introduced him to Kendra and company. Yes, she showed by her whole appearance that she did not share his joy, but nevertheless, our loyal captain O'Neil was there for him, by his side all this time.

And her sweet facial expression. From "Srsly? Join this jerks?" to "If you dare to even think about to hurt him, I'll smash you".

And one more cute detail about Dee. Even if he does whatever he wanted so badly, Don constantly looks around at April, looking for her approval.

- Be honest, April, do I look fantastic, or SUPERBLY fantastic?

- You look like you drop a juice box in a laundry. (Play nice, April, don't be mean)

He cherishes her opinion.

April had even called him late at night just to, technically speaking, say that his tech were stolen. And what's the big deal with all his outfit? It's late night, they can just sneak out into Nakamura in their usual form. But noooo, April give a special ride on her bicycle. Just. You know. Our girl carried her own weight and his all the way without stopping. And then she went up 53 + floors running non-stop because Donnie's equipment was stolen. And then she had to chase the her classmates, dodge and jump out of the window. Because Purple dragons stole Dee's tech. Like shooting fish in a barrel, no big deal at all.

And it's definitely not because he will be totally crashed or he'll do stupid things during his anger, which will then come out sideways.

And April comes along with him to very end.

By the way, their phone conversations.

Donnie is the very case when "Call at any time of the day or night and I will pick up the phone".

When April called him when he needs D's help with Albearto, when something is definitely going on behind.

As it says in transcript of the episode:

[April takes out her phone, scrolls to Donnie’s listing and calls him. Donatello appears on screen. Behind him a flying microwave wearing boxing gloves shoots lasers at his brothers.]

Don: "You are conversing with Donatello."

April

[Crouched on floor in hiding.]

Dude, I need your help."

Don: "For you, anything. As long as it does not involve bees, or spiders, or beach balls.

[There’s an explosion behind him and his brothers cry out, which he ignores.]

And yeah, he took her incoming immediately, he ignores absolutely and totally everything around him, because... April? Expositions, bloody flying microwave bot turned to destroy mode, his brothers screaming and being in life-threatening situation? Naaah, it can wait.

Donatello was at Todd's, building "the puppiest place on Earth" and was very enthusiastic about to finish this thing. But he paused anyway to answer April.

We already know how obsessive with work Don can be: if something interesting gets into his field of view, he begins to do it all day long. Remember "The Purple Game" - a very revealing case. Yeah, we weren't shown how much Donnie is into engineering, but I can guess that point remains the same.

April called him at late night and Donnie picked up the phone.

April, unlike Donatello, is a teenager who is burdened with social relationship such as family, school, and work periodically, which implies a more or less strict schedule to follow and some conventions, such as " April, you can't go out late at night to catch robbers, you are underage and you have to go to school/work tomorrow). However, she was watching the news late at night, so she called Dee. ( I have a lot of questions, but I'll never get answers, as it seems)

D, in turn, doesn't have so many contacts with the outside world. I highly doubt that anyone else outside of the family and April has his number. And yet, when he hears the call late at night he takes it. Yes, he had awaken from the nightmare, but still.

And what's up with his usual "You're conversing with Donatello"? He didn't even understand what's going on, as it seems, he's too sleepy to play his usual image and playfully attitude as we could see in "Hypno Part Deux" and "War and Pizza".

Adorable couple-like D&A arguing

April very rarely uses "I told you so" against anybody, or rather, this is almost the only case. This phrase is more suitable for Leo or Donnie, and you know," I told you so! " we usually use on people we know well, and we want to tease 'em about them being wrong. Which, in fact, once again highlights and proves how close D&A are. And I don't even get started about the fact that this is more like a couple's quarrel, not a friend's.

And one more time - in the end, when April suggests using the jacket to stop Kendra.

Their teamwork

I stated that before, I'll tell it one more and more times. The chemistry of their team interaction is incredible. It's as if they can feel each other, and each knows what the other is capable of doing in the next moment. April easily adapts to Donnie's attack, realizing his plan.

Donnie also throws them both out of the window in order to continue the pursuiting Kendra on the jetpack. Don is one hundred percent sure of April, that she will understand what he wants to do, Dee trusts her with his life without hesitation, and she has never used his jetpack. He just puts her before the fact: April will be using the tech.

Up for Donnie!

I really like how this scene was made. Donatello struggles with his own tech, somewhat he made by himself, having invested almost whole himself and his soul, but what "betrayed" him in end. When Dee finally managed to shake one of his battleshell, which almost choked him, Donnie feel so scared and unsecured. We can see his anxiety - Dee's coaching position with covering his head with his hands and tucking his knees.

Defenseless, helpless, and mostly lost, and then, just in time - hero comes to save his life. She uses Donnie's name as battlecry, look how furious she is.

Funny fact: on Russian dub April yells "Don't touch Donnie! (how dare you, madafaka)

April fits in Donnie's type of girls. She's cute (obvious) and mean (not so obvious).

I can't say that meanness is the main feature of April's character, as we can say about Kendra. But this personality trait is still present in her and sometimes it does not manifest itself so widely. April's meanness is not so pronounced, it is much softer and smoother, and it is not exposed.

But April becomes really mean when someone messes up with Donnie.

She's his support and prop. Literally. Just look at first frame, okay-okay, jokes aside

She's genuinely enjoying of kicking bad guys ' asses, even letting go of witticisms and barbs.

Last scenes

Don survived a rough night: he was used, his tech was stolen, so he and April had to chase the satin robed punks. Donnie was hit in the head with a hammer, he fell from a bird's-eye view, passed out and then his battleshell tried to strangle him. And April is here to comfort him, to cheer him up.

Yes, we don't get any hugs (because it's kids show, bleh), the tactility is kept to a minimum, except for April's comforting hand on his shoulder, but they don't even look at each other. But the softness of her voice, the intonation with which she utters a phrase (that is usually sent to the friend zone, but "pal" is really neutral word, and the most important how she said that) turn the scene upside down. It is not what April did to comfort him matter, it's how she did this.

I said "yes" to you way too often

April mirrors Donnie with his "Anything for you". Yes, of course, she said this with a certain amount of grumbling, but her voice and her demeanor suggest otherwise - she is not at all averse to going to giving in him.

And the way they're look at each other.

This one

And one more detail

It's really tiny, it's hard to catch from the first watching the episode, but still, it's possible. I'm talking about graffiti on the walls of the alley where April and Don had landed.

This one

Yeah, if we speak about reality it's quite normal to see graffiti like this. But we talking about TV-series, where everything has its own place and meaning. And if there something, it must be there, it's not just whim of artist who put it in there. But this little graffiti changes the mood of scene.

[nerdzzone]

-More Hearts Than Mine-

Summary: Raising a child is hard. Raising a child with one of Hollywood’s biggest stars is even harder. And raising a child with one of Hollywood’s biggest stars who you’re not actually in a relationship with is even harder still.

Especially when a global pandemic is sweeping the world.

With lockdowns and stay at home orders looming on the horizon, the uncertainty of their situation becomes almost too much for Whitney Taylor to handle. Chris suggests that they quarantine together to avoid any potential separations but, given what happened the last time they spent more than a few brief moments in each other’s company, that could cause more problems than it solves…

Chris Evans x OFC

Sequel to: Once Bitten - Twice Shy

Note: Again, just a reminder that all the information I have about covid restrictions in Massachusetts is from google, not first hand experience, so if something seems wrong please just go with it.

Part Three

______

Part Four

If avoiding difficult conversations was an Olympic sport then it's pretty safe to say that I would have earned myself a gold medal by the end of the following week. It wasn't all that hard to do though as the exhaustion from parenting during a pandemic was hitting us both. Especially because the weather for the first couple of weeks of April was abysmal. It was cold, stormy and raining almost every day and we were all getting quite stir crazy from being inside constantly - especially our lively and spirited child.

So, it was a massive relief when the sun finally came out.

It was also a relief that it lined up with Grayson's third birthday.

He was going to have a very different birthday than previous years - as most people would over the next few months - but we wanted him to have fun and he was quickly tiring of all the indoor activities that we could come up with.

We set the living room up the night before after he'd gone to bed, putting up a birthday banner with several clusters of balloons, and there was quite the mountain of presents in the corner as most of our family members had sent their gifts in advance. I had hoped to wake up before him, but when I woke up to excited cheers and Dodger barking from downstairs, I knew I was too late. A quick glance at my phone told me that it was only six thirty, but clearly the excitement had gotten him up earlier than normal.

"Whoa, Dodger, Grayson, shhhh," I heard Chris warn the pair of them, his voice still raspy from sleep. "You'll wake up the whole neighbourhood."

I smiled and quickly climbed out of bed. Chris wouldn't let him open any presents without me, I knew that, but I didn't want to keep him waiting for too long.

When I got downstairs, a very excited Grayson was bouncing on the couch as Chris sat next to him, watching him closely with a smile on his face.

"Happy birthday!" I cheered, catching his attention.

He sprang off the couch and bolted towards me.

"Thanks, Mama," He shouted, throwing his arms around my legs and looking up at me. "I'm three!"

"You are!" I smiled as I knelt down in front of him and pulled him into a hug. "You're such a big boy now."

He let me squeeze him for another moment or two before wiggling free.

"Can I open presents?"

Chris laughed at his clear priorities, shaking his head as I stood up.

"Let's just wait for Uncle Scott," he suggested before glancing up at me. "He's putting the coffee on."

"Very smart," I nodded. "I think we're all going to need plenty of that today."

Grayson proved my point by grabbing at his balloons and waving them frantically, setting Dodger off barking again.

"Dodge!" Chris scolded. "It's just a balloon, buddy. Chill."

The poor overwhelmed dog hung his head and came over to me for some sympathy. I happily obliged, cooing some comforting words and rubbing his back.

"Gray, leave the balloons, okay?" I requested. "I don't think Dodger likes them."

Grayson frowned, but instantly let go of the balloon in his hand.

"Sorry, Dodger."

"It sounds like we have quite the party in here already," Scott commented as he sauntered into the room. "Shall we see what's in some of these boxes?"

"Yes! Yes!" Grayson cheered, running over to the presents. "What first?"

"Whatever you want," I told him, smiling as I went to sit on the couch next to Chris. "Do you need some help?"

"No, I can do it!" He insisted, making a bee line for the biggest box and quickly ripping the paper off.

We watched as he opened gift after gift, an ear to ear grin on his face the whole time. Just as he was at Christmas, he was incredibly grateful for every present from the Paw Patrol Lookout Tower that was almost as tall as he was to the dinosaur books that were more educational than flashy and fun.

But there was one gift at the bottom of the pile that Chris wasn't particularly impressed by. The one that my brother had sent.

Grayson opened it, pulling out a t-shirt first.

"What does it say?" He asked, holding up the shirt towards us.

Chris' jaw dropped as I stifled my giggles and Scott burst out laughing.

"It says 'Team Iron Man'," I read. "Remember how Uncle Rob was in a movie with Daddy where they had a big fight? Iron Man was Uncle Rob's character and I think Uncle Jack wants you to be on that team."

"Oh," Grayson smiled. "Okay!"

"Okay?!" Chris protested. "You don't want to be on my team?"

Grayson shrugged as he pulled something else out of the box from my brother.

"Look!" He shouted, his excitement clear as he held up a very fancy electronic Iron Man helmet. "I love it!"

I wasn't even sure that he knew what it was as he hadn't seen any of the movies yet, but his enthusiasm compared to Chris' displeasure was killing Scott and I.

"Oh, it's such a shame that your brother wasted his money," Chris said, his words dripping with sarcasm as he had a forced look of pity on his face. "Those things are expensive and Grayson is never going to wear it."

"I'll wear it!"

Grayson's insistence was followed by him putting the helmet on his head and another howl of laughter came from Scott as a look of betrayal crossed Chris' face.

"Your brother is a jerk."

His words were quiet so Grayson wouldn't hear and I smiled.

"What can I say?" I shrugged. "We're an Iron Man family..."

Chris shot me a glare, but turned his attention back to Gray.

"Well, if you don't want to be on my team then I guess I'll just have to find someone else to have the last present that I got for you..."

Chris was teasing, but Grayson whipped off the helmet faster than we could blink. He looked around, a puzzled expression on his face when he couldn't see anymore boxes on the floor and I shared his confusion as I wasn't aware of anymore gifts either. But the Evans brothers exchanged a knowing glance and I knew they were up to something.

"Maybe Miles would like it," Scott suggested. "He loves Captain America."

"Me too!" Grayson insisted, tossing the helmet aside as if it hadn't been his new prized possession moments ago. "He's my favourite!"

"Oh, is he now?" Chris laughed. "Doesn't take much to make you change your mind, does it?"

Grayson shook his head, oblivious to the fact that he was being teased, but Chris didn't torture him for too long.

"Alright, do you want to see what it is?"

"Yes, I do!"

Grayson leapt up, bouncing up and down with excitement, making Chris laugh as he stood up from the couch.

"C'mon then," he told Grayson, nodding his head towards the door. "It's this way."

Grayson scurried after his dad and I followed, my own curiosity piqued as well.

"What is it?" I asked Scott, but he just shot me a smirk.

"You'll see in a second."

I narrowed my eyes at his secrets and paused at the front door where Chris was waiting for us, his hand on the door knob as Grayson practically vibrated with excitement.

"Okay, close your eyes," Chris instructed. "No peeking!"

"I won't, I won't!"

Grayson covered his eyes as an extra assurance and Chris' grin widened even more as he swung open the door. I put my hands on Grayson's shoulders and guided him through it, seeing a shiny blue bike with a big bow on the handlebars. I felt a flash of worry at all the potential ways for Grayson to get hurt riding it, but there was no time to dwell on that as Chris told him to open his eyes and he gasped with excitement.

"A bike!" He squealed with joy, leaping off the doorstep and running towards it.

He circled it for a moment as if he was really trying to take it all in while I looked up at Chris.

"There better be a helmet with this present," I warned him. "I'm already imagining broken bones and missing teeth."

"He'll be fine," Chris assured me with a chuckle. "It has training wheels, but of course I got him a helmet."

I opened my mouth, ready to share some more potential disasters that could come from this - because even with training wheels he could still fall off or lose control and crash into a tree - but Grayson cut me off.

"Help me, Daddy! Help me!"

He was trying to climb onto the seat, but as I took in the sight of him barefoot in his pyjamas standing in the driveway, I stopped Chris as he moved towards him.

"Wait, why don't we have breakfast first?" I suggested. "We have all day to play on your bike, but you're not dressed or even wearing shoes..."

Grayson's face fell and I felt bad being the mean parent, but Chris nodded in agreement.

"Your Ma's right, Gray," he told him. "Let's go get ready and then we can come right back outside, okay?"

Grayson looked sulky, but reluctantly agreed as he walked back over to us.

"Hey now," Scott said, catching his attention. "No pouting on your birthday! We've got some chocolate chip pancakes to make! Unless that sad face means you don't want them anymore?"

His previous smile slid instantly back onto his face at the promise of such a sugary breakfast and the pep returned to his step as he grabbed Scott's hand before dragging him into the house.

-

I had no evidence to prove my theory, but by the time breakfast was over, I was almost certain that it would have been more relaxing to be in the middle of a hurricane. There was pancake batter all over the room and we practically had to pin Grayson to his chair to stop him from sprinting around the room with food in his mouth. It was a miracle that he got through the meal without choking.

It was impossible to be mad though when he was having such a good time. He'd had so much to adjust to lately, seeing him happy on his birthday was all that I wanted and I was willing to put up with a little more chaos than normal if it made that happen. Within reason, of course. I did stop him when he suggested that we put the entire bag of chocolate chips in the pancake batter and I did make him help me clean them up when he dumped them on the floor in protest of my ridiculous restrictions.

Once the breakfast circus was over, Chris whisked him off to get him ready to play outside while I helped Scott clean up the kitchen before going upstairs to shower and get ready myself.

When I came back down almost an hour later, I felt considerably less frazzled, but the sound of excited squeals and giggles echoing from outside told me the energy levels hadn't died down much. It really was a relief that he was having such a nice day though so I braced myself for more chaos and headed out to find them.

The sight that greeted me melted my heart completely.

Chris was running backwards across the driveway as Grayson rode towards him. He shouted encouragement the entire time, reminding him to keep pedaling and to look where he was going and cheering as Grayson rode past him before turning around and circling back.

"Look, Mama!" He shouted to me as he spotted me by the door. "I'm doing it!"

"You are, baby!" I smiled. "Good job!"

I sat on the doorstep and watched him ride in circles, proud of how fast he'd figured it out, but after a few moments, my attention turned to Chris.

There were few times since I'd known him when I'd seen him look as happy as he did in that moment. When Grayson was born, when he took his first steps and when he first said 'Dada' were probably the only comparable moments I could think of. He looked absolutely gleeful as he chased after Grayson, laughing as he passed him before dodging a different way and waiting for Gray to catch up before bolting off again. The sound of their giggles and shouts filled my heart so much that it genuinely felt like it was about to burst out of my chest and a feeling of contentedness hit me so hard that it almost knocked over.

It was a feeling that told me that they were all I ever needed. Those two boys, making each other dizzy as they ran in circles. Their happiness and love was all I could ever hope to have and moments like these were all I ever wanted to see. I wanted us to spend every weekend soaking in this kind of joy. I didn't want to fight and argue and transport Grayson back and forth every other week. I wanted to give Grayson what he deserved, I wanted us to be a family.

But as fast as that clarity hit me, the knots in my stomach were there to remind me that it wasn't just about what I wanted. It wasn't about what would bring us the most moments of delight, it was about what would provide Grayson with the most stability and being a family might do more harm to that goal than good.

It was a constant battle between my heart and my head, but I was starting to realize that my head was losing. I was clinging to my resistance with all I had, but it was slipping away. I knew I needed to talk to Chris, to sort out the fog in my brain, but for the time being, I pushed it out of my mind. This was Grayson's day and we didn't have time for anymore heart-wrenching conversations.

I was snapped out of my thoughts as Scott appeared from the side of the house on roller blades and the unexpected sight pulled a laugh from my lips as he sailed past Chris and Grayson and headed down the driveway.

"Gray, follow me!"

Gray nodded, frantically pedaling to catch up with his uncle as they sped off down the long drive. Chris watched them for a minute before jogging over to me.

"He got it so fast," he puffed as he fought to catch his breath. "He's a natural."

"The training wheels help," I pointed out, shielding my eyes from the sun as I looked up at him. "But it's fine because he'll be keeping those on until he's at least eighteen."

Chris barked out a laugh, shaking his head.

"No way," he smirked. "We'll have them off by next week."

"Not a chance. I need at least six months to get used to that idea."

"How about we meet in the middle and aim for three?"

"Hmm, maybe," I bit back a smile. "We'll have to see how many injuries he gets with the training wheels on first."

"He'll be fine. He's a champ," Chris grinned proudly. "We've got a pretty great kid."

"We do," I patted the step next to me as I made room for Chris to sit down. "I can't believe he's already three."

Chris accepted my silent invitation and sat down next to me.

"I know," he sighed. "It feels like just yesterday that he was born..."

"He was so tiny," I reminisced. "And you had those huge Captain America muscles."

Chris laughed as he nodded at the memory.

"I was so scared to hold him in case I accidentally crushed him."

"I was so scared of everything," I admitted. "It wasn't until he was actually born that it really hit me that we were completely responsible for his well-being and keeping him alive."

"We've done well with that though!"

"We have," I agreed with a smile. "He's alive and thriving."

"We make a good team."

He flashed me a warm smile that made my heart beat stutter and it almost stopped completely when he stretched out a hand and placed it on mine. His touch was gentle and the warmth of his skin flooded through me even more than the sun streaming down on us. It was a simple gesture, but it eased the heaviness that had been hovering between us lately and I was grateful. I carefully flipped my hand over so our palms pressed together and let our fingers interlace. His smile widened as he looked back out at the driveway, his eyes settling on Grayson in the distance who was laughing at something Scott said.

"Thank you," Chris sighed, his voice quiet and filled with genuine appreciation. "I don't think I've ever said it, but thank you for making me a dad."

His words almost brought tears to my eyes, but I shook my head.

"Chris, you don't need to than-"

"I do," he insisted, cutting me off. "He's the best thing that ever happened to me and he wouldn't be here without you."

"I could say the same," I pointed out, trying to ignore the way his thumb was stroking the back of my hand. "He gets most of his good traits from you too. His kind heart, his sensitive little soul, his loyalty."

"His infuriating stubbornness."

"He gets that from both of us," I smiled. "He didn't stand a chance with that one."

"Well, I hope he gets some of your selflessness," Chris informed me, glancing over and looking a tad sheepish. "Because, as much as I disagree with it and I wish you'd be a little selfish, I get that you're trying to look out for him."

I felt my palms start to sweat and I wondered if he could feel it. I resisted the urge to snatch my hand away from his, trying to play it cooler than I felt. He was watching me closely as I mulled over his words until I found the strength to speak.

"I'm not so sure that it's just him that I'm trying to look out for," I admitted, exhaling a breath that I didn't realize I was holding.  "I do think we have more to talk about, Chris, but I don't think this is the right time."

"You're right," he nodded. "I just felt like I owed you an apology after the other night. I let my feelings get the best of me and I came across a little harsh."

I was about to reassure him that he hadn't when the sound of honking interrupted our conversation. Our attention was pulled to the end of the driveway where two cars - belonging to Chris' mom and his sister - were pulling in as Scott moved Grayson and Dodger off to the side to let them past.

"Did you know they were coming?" I asked, surprised by the little motorcade.

"Nah, I had no idea," Chris shrugged. "We'll stay outside though, keep our distance."

I wasn't worried about that really, I knew all of Chris' family were staying very isolated and being smart about staying safe and we were technically allowed to have outdoor gatherings of up to ten people anyway with the current rules in place. I was surprised to see them though as we'd warned Grayson that he would only get to see most of his family over FaceTime. His excitement at that being untrue was clear as he frantically pedaled back up the driveway to greet his guests.

"Mama! Daddy! Look!"

I let Chris' hand fall away from mine as we stood, smiling at Grayson's excitement as everyone started getting out of their cars. They burst into a rousing chorus of 'Happy Birthday' making Gray's grin grow even more.

"Happy birthday, Grayson!" Lisa beamed as Grayson ran towards her full speed. He threw his arms around her legs before we could even remind him to keep his distance, but Lisa seemed unbothered by it. "Have you had a good day so far?"

"Yes!" Gray smiled up at her. "I got a bike!"

"I saw that!" Lisa matched his enthusiasm. "You're a lucky boy!"

Grayson shot her another smile before turning his attention to his cousins.

"Wanna try?"

His older cousins were probably too big, but Stella's hand shot up first and beat them to it anyway.

"That's really nice of you to share," I called over to Grayson. "But share your helmet too, okay?"

He nodded and struggled with the clip for a few minutes before Lisa helped him take it off and placed it on her granddaughter's head.

Once they were all happy, chasing Stella and Dodger around the drive way, the adults moved over towards us. Lisa was the first to speak, a guilty look on her face.

"I hope you don't mind us just showing up like this, but we couldn't stay away on his birthday..."

"It's great!" Chris assured her. "Don't worry about it."

"And Grayson seems thrilled," I added. "It's nice for him to have other kids to run around with for a bit."

We all turned to watch them as they played until Carly let out a laugh.

"Are Grayson's shoes on the wrong feet?"

I hadn't even noticed, but I laughed as well when I realized that she was right.

"Some days just getting him in shoes at all is a victory," Chris defended himself. "And today was one of those days."

"He's like the energizer bunny this morning," Scott joked. "I can't imagine what he'll be like after we get some cake into him."

"Just think how well he'll sleep tonight," Carly pointed out. "He has to crash eventually."

"I hope so," Chris smiled. "He had me up at six o'clock this morning, I need an early night."

That earned a laugh from the group as his siblings teased him about being such an old man, but I felt a pang of sympathy for him, knowing that he'd been up early with Grayson a lot lately. Maybe it was because we were at his house so it was what Gray was used to, but Chris was definitely the favourite for the early morning wake up call.

We stood in our little circle for a while, just catching up as we watched the kids, all of us enjoying conversation with someone other than the people we were locked up with twenty-four hours a day. It was nice for me to have some female company as well even though Lisa was very pleased to hear that her boys were pulling their weight around the house and not just treating me like some kind of live-in maid.

It didn't take long for the kids to get tired of sharing the bike, especially the older boys who were too big for it anyway, and soon they were swarming around us demanding that we all play a game. After being cooped up for so long, it didn't seem like a bad idea to get us all moving around a little so we agreed and set about the daunting task of finding something everyone was willing to play.

Eventually, we settled on capture the flag - girls against boys. Lisa decided she'd make a better referee than a player so the boys team had one extra member, but they had three children to our one so it hardly seemed like the extra person would cause any unbalance. 

The rules of the game were simple: each team had three flags in our 'end zone' at opposite ends of the large grassy part of Chris' yard and the other team had to try to steal those flags. We had to grab it and run it all the way back to our own end zone to score a point, but once it was safely 'captured' it couldn't be stolen back. If someone managed to snatch a flag, but was tagged on their way back to their end zone then they had to give the flag back.

Lisa was very firm in reminding her children that tackling was not allowed as the Evans siblings were fiercely competitive and it had apparently led to trouble over the years. Once the rules were all set, we took our places and started the game.

The teams were fairly evenly matched. The boys had more strength, but we had more agility and were much better at communicating and working together which led to us easily scoring the first point. While Stella distracted Scott, Carly snuck past him to snatch the flag and she tossed it to Shanna who faked a pass to Stella before throwing it to me to get it to the safe zone. It was a beautifully executed play that showed the boys we weren't messing around.

"Oh, it's on now," Chris called out as he sprinted past me.

Shanna bolted after him, but he managed to grab the flag and throw it to Ethan before she caught up. With all the other boys guarding him, he made it all the way back to their end zone without getting tagged.

"I think having a super soldier on your team is an unfair advantage ," Carly huffed, but Chris shook his head with a smirk.

"Nah, because we have Scott too so it balances out."

"Hey!" Scott protested. "I'll switch teams if you're going to be rude!"

Stella jumped for joy at that idea, pleading with him to come onto our side, but the rest of the boys voiced their protests and he decided that, as long as there was no more hurtful comments, he would stick to his team for now. I used their bickering as a distraction though as I snuck closer towards their unguarded flags. I managed to grab one before Scott noticed and called out a warning to the rest of his team, but when I took off running and Grayson charged towards me, I didn't have the heart to out run him on his special day. I slowed down enough that he wouldn't realize I was letting him win and groaned dramatically as he tagged me, making me give up the flag.

"I did it!" He cheered. "Daddy! Did you see? I did it!"

Stella had a disappointed scowl on her face, but everyone else was understanding as they watched Chris scoop him up onto his shoulders, chanting his name as if he'd just won the World Cup while he carried him back to replace the flag.

Their celebration was short-lived though as we managed to steal the flag again almost as soon as Chris and Grayson were far enough away from it. After another perfectly executed play, the score was sitting at 2-1 for us. The pressure was on after that as we only needed one more point to win, it ramped up the competitive spirit.

We were off to a great start in the next round. Shanna got the flag quickly, but Scott had her cornered almost immediately so she tossed it to me. I got about ten steps before Chris was on my heels and I was forced to throw it over to Carly. Chris turned and went to chase after her instead and without even thinking, I leapt on his back to stop him.

"Hey!" He protested, slowing to a stop despite how he was clearly unaffected by my weight. "Is anyone seeing this? This has got to be a foul! She tackled me!"

"I did not tackle you!" I insisted, clinging to his shoulders with my legs wrapped around his waist. "If it was a tackle, you'd be on the ground."

Chris wiggled around, trying to throw me off his back as Carly sauntered into our end zone with the flag.

"The only reason I'm not on the ground is because you're too weak," Chris argued before shouting to his mom. "That doesn't count!

"No, Mama," Grayson joined in, running over to us looking very disapproving. "No cheating!"

I laughed, but slid down from Chris' back.

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" I held my hands up as I apologized. "I can't outrun Captain America, I had no choice!"

"Well, now you lost the point," Chris teased me, shoving me playfully and making me stumble a step away from him. "So, lets keep it fair and stop trying to cheat."

I swatted back at him as I stuck out my tongue while Lisa made the official call that the point didn't count and Scott took the recently captured flag back to the boy's end zone.

Chris had a new twinkle in his eye as the next round started. He hadn't let me get very far away from him and I quickly realized that I'd made a mistake by antagonizing him. I would be useless to my team if he was on my tail the whole time, but he was a tank and incredibly fast so getting away from him was next to impossible. I watched helplessly as Scott and Miles easily took our flag and dashed it back to their end zone to tie the score.

"Chris!" I whined as I tried to get around him like I was a cornered puppy, trying not to get caught. "Get away from me, you big oaf!"

"Oh, wow," Chris chuckled. "Let's not start calling names and being mean."

I tried to dart past him again, but groaned as he blocked my path.

"You're infuriating!"

"It's all part of the game."

The smirk on Chris' face had my competitive side firing up as I could see behind him that Miles had snatched our last flag. Stella was hot on his heels though, so he had no choice, but to pass to Grayson who was coming our way. Was I going to stop my three year old son from scoring the game winning point on his birthday? Probably not. But I had to at least make my attempt genuine so I came up with a plan.

"Is that..." I squinted off into the distance on the other side of the yard. "Is that Dodger chasing a cat?"

My Oscar worthy performance had Chris spinning around to check out what I saw and it gave me enough time to bolt away towards Grayson who wasn't far away from winning the game for his team. I made it an impressive five steps before Chris figured out what I'd done and came after me. Grayson saw what was happening and dodged to the left so I followed, but my change of direction gave Chris an opportunity. The next thing I knew, I felt a crash against my hips before I was lifted from the ground and found myself dangling over Chris' shoulder.

I let out a squeal of surprise as I kicked my legs, trying to get down, but Chris had a tight grip on me and there was no getting away. The ease with which he threw me around wasn't at all distracting and there wasn't a single part of me that was revelling in his strength. Not at all.

"This is absolutely a tackle!" I protested, focusing my mind back onto my predicament. "Put me down!"

"If this was a tackle, you'd be on the ground," he mocked me. "This is payback."

I had a nice view, my head only inches above 'America's ass' so, swept up in the moment of playfulness between us, I reached down and gave it a smack. He yelped and jumped, shaking me as he did.

"Chris! Put me down!"

My demands were weakened by the giggles that I couldn't hold back, but thankfully Scott stepped in to help me regain some dignity.

"Alright, you two," he called over. "Can we get back to the game now or would you like us all to give you some time alone?"

A blush covered my cheeks as I remembered that his entire family was around us and was relieved when he lowered me to the ground.

"Games over," Chris called back. "Grayson scored!"

Grayson jumped up and down happily, but Stella had a scowl on her face.

"Nuh uh! When Whitney tackled you, it didn't count!" She pointed out. "Grayson's point doesn't count too!"

The joy on Grayson's face fell into a look of anger as he stomped his foot at his cousin’s claim.

"It does!" He insisted. "I did it!"

"Now look what you've done," I playfully scolded Chris quietly before shouting to the rest of the group. "I think we're going to have to let them have the point, ladies. I wouldn't have been able to catch up to Grayson even if Chris didn't cheat..."

Stella's jaw dropped in clear shock that I hadn't supported her protests, but to stop the war before it could start, Chris chimed in.

"Grayson didn't need my help to score that point, I shouldn't have interfered," he started. "But why don't we call it a game and go have some cake?!"

The promise of sugar seemed to quash any animosity between the teams as all the kids let out a shriek of approval at that suggestion and took off running back to the house.

"Oh, yes," Carly sighed. "Because what my children clearly need right now is more energy..."

"It's Gray's birthday," Chris shrugged with a smile as we all followed the children at a much more reasonable pace. "We have to have cake!"

"And if it wasn't his birthday then I wouldn't have let you win."

My taunting earned a bark of laughter from Chris.

"Let us win? Yeah, sure, okay. You just keep telling yourself that you're faster and stronger than me," he teased. "Whatever makes you feel better."

I shoved him, but he was braced for it and I ended up more affected by the impact than him which proved his point, putting a smirk on his face.

"Asshole," I muttered as I shook my head, but I couldn't hold back a smile at how nice our affectionate teasing felt.

-

By the end of the day, we were all exhausted. It had been a fun and very special day for Grayson so we were thrilled for him, but exhausted nonetheless. Gray fought his bedtime with all the will power he had, eager for the day to go on just a little bit longer, but we won out in the end and he made it to bed on time. Scott had gone to his own room while we were fighting with him and Chris and I parted ways shortly after to get some much needed quiet time of our own.

I found myself distracted though, when I was finally alone, as the importance of the day had me feeling sentimental. Watching Grayson grow up and hit these milestones was a joy, but it left me feeling a bit reminiscent of the years gone by. Years when he was even smaller than he was now, just starting to figure out the world and how to speak, walk and be a part of it. The time was really flying by and as I began to scroll through old videos of his first year of life, the nostalgia was almost too much to bear.

Eventually, I stumbled on a video that had distinct parallels of today.

It was a video of Grayson's first birthday when we'd given him his own little cake and let him go to town on it. Of course, as many babies do, he'd stared at it for a moment before smashing his face directly into it. It was adorable and tugged on my heart strings considering how comparatively neat his cake consumption was earlier that day. He'd grown so much in such a short time and I felt compelled to share my discovery with Chris so I dragged myself out of bed and crept down to his room.

There was a fluttering of nerves in my stomach as I knocked on his bedroom door, the feeling only growing as he called out an invitation to come inside. I did as he'd asked and let myself in, finding him leaning back against the headboard of his bed - wearing nothing but his pajama pants - with his own phone in his hand.

"Hey," he smiled. "What's up?"

"I found a video," I told him, standing awkwardly near the foot of his bed. "I was feeling a little sad about how fast Gray is growing up so I was looking back, watching old videos and I found one that I thought you might like to see."

Chris’ smile widened and he eagerly patted the bed next to him, encouraging me to sit. I took him up on his offer and settled in as I unlocked my phone and started the video.

"He was so little..."

Chris' observation came as the camera settled on Gray where he sat in his high chair. Chris was right next to him, a grin on his face as he chatted happily to our son despite the nonsense babble that he got in response. I appeared on the screen after a few moments, carrying a tiny cake as everyone started to sing Happy Birthday. Grayson had a look of confusion on his face as he looked around at the crowd, but his eyes widened when the cake was placed in front of him.

"Go on, Gray," I prompted once the singing had stopped. "You can taste it."

He needed no more encouragement and simply face planted right into it, popping up a moment later with blue icing from the tops of his eyebrows to the bottom of his chin. He had a huge, cheeky grin on his face as he looked at us and, just as he did in the video, Chris laughed next to me.

"Oh, man, it kills you, doesn't it?" He questioned before clarifying. "How cute he is."

I hadn't realized that Chris' arm had found its way behind me when he leaned in to watch until I felt his breath on my hair as he spoke and I couldn't resist leaning back, tucking myself under his shoulder. The whole day, the knowledge that my baby was growing up, had me needing some comfort. It was exciting, to see him learn and shift from a baby to a little person, but at the same time, I felt the overwhelming urge for time to stop.

"It does," I agreed, letting my phone fall to the bed beside me. "I can't believe how much he's changed since then."

"In some ways," Chris agreed, looking down at me with a smirk. "In others, he's still that goofy, reckless baby."

"If he's anything like you, he'll probably never grow out of being goofy and reckless."

I felt Chris' shoulders shake as he chuckled at my teasing and I was reminded of the last time we'd been cuddled up, in a similar position to this, in his bed. I felt a flood of warmth run through my body at the memory as I was suddenly aware of how close we were, aware of how good he smelt and how strong his hard muscled arm felt as I leaned against it.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"I meant it as one," I assured him. "I like that you're goofy. Your recklessness used to give me anxiety sometimes, when you'd always insist that you just had to do your own stunts on Captain America as if you really thought you were a super soldier, but I like that you're willing to take risks."

"Awe, gee, Whitney," he teased, squeezing me closer against him. "It was nice of you to worry about me."

"Of course I worried," I rolled my eyes. "Your muscles are bigger than your brain sometimes."

"Not anymore..." Chris held up the arm that wasn't currently around me and flexed his muscles, showing off a bicep that was still much larger than most even if it wasn't quite up to the Avengers standard. "I'm out of shape."

Against my own best interest, I turned slightly, letting my hand drift up towards his arm as my head fell against his chest. I traced over the bulging muscle and watched as tiny goosebumps rose up on his skin at the sensation. Skin that felt so soft under my touch and I felt his breath shift as he clearly felt the mood between us change the same way that I did. I felt emboldened by how amorous our emotional day had left me as I let my head tip back to find him looking down at me with the same intensity he had a few months ago.

My breath caught in my throat and I couldn't help myself. Despite every alarm bell going off inside my brain, I stretched up just enough to press my lips against his. For a moment, he relaxed. His shoulders dropped as my fingers curled around the arm they were just stroking, but then suddenly his entire body tensed as if he'd been shocked by a bolt of electricity. He jerked away, sliding out from under me and off the bed before I could even realize what was happening.

"No," he said firmly, pointing his finger at me the same way he did to Dodger when he was being naughty. "No, no, we're not doing this again. Not until we talk about it what's going on here."

I felt the sting of rejection so harshly that it almost brought tears to my eyes, but I knew he was right.

"I'm sorry," I squeaked out, my cheeks burning. "You're right. I shouldn't have done that."

My voice was shaking as I scrambled to stand up, the stunned look on Chris' face only adding to my embarrassment. We stood there, staring at each other with the bed between us, but he didn't speak and after a few moments of silence, my shame was overwhelming, kicking my flight instincts into gear.

"I'll go," I mumbled. "Sorry again."

I didn't wait for a response before darting towards the door, but Chris' voice stopped me before I could make my escape.

"Whitney, stop." He didn't shout, but his tone was firm and demanding enough that I froze on the spot. "We need to talk about this. We can't keep going on with it hanging above our heads."

I turned to face him, discovering that he'd moved closer and was standing by the foot of the bed. He was still a few feet away from me, but close enough that it felt almost suffocating and I bit my lip as I stared at his feet, unable to look him in the eye.

"I don't know what to say..."

"I can take it," he insisted, a hint of resignation in voice as he continued. "You've had plenty of time to think it over since our last conversation and you said earlier today that we needed to talk. If you're gonna turn me down, put whatever this is to bed, just do it now and get it over with."

I furrowed my brow in confusion at his words, my heart beating in my chest so fast that I could hear the blood pumping through my ears.

"Turn you down?" I questioned. "Why do you think I'm going to turn you down? I just kissed you."

"That didn't mean much at Christmas."

He had a very valid point and I felt another pang of guilt at how badly I was treating him. I was hot and cold, affectionate and withdrawn, unwavering in my decision one minute and unsteady the next. I hadn't spared much thought to how cruel that was and now that I'd realized, I couldn't hold back the frustrated groan that fell from my lips.

"I don't know what to do, Chris! I think I know what the right decision is. It's what always felt like the safer choice, but then there are times when that's just..." I paused, taking in a deep breath to work up a dash of courage. "It's not what I want."

Chris watched me closely as if choosing his next words very carefully.

"If the safer choice isn't what you want then it sounds like maybe you need to take a risk. You can't live your life making decisions out of fear."

My eyes narrowed. He was over simplifying the situation. That way of thinking might work if it was just the two of us, but with Gray in the middle, things were more complicated.

"It's not that straight forward."

I shook my head as I spoke, but Chris countered with a nod.

"Sure, it is," he shrugged before asking a question that almost stopped my heart. "Do you love me?"

I stared at him, opening my mouth to speak and then closing it again when the words didn't come. I stood there, gaping at him like some kind of ridiculous puffer fish, until I finally got a word out.

"What?"

A smirk slid onto Chris' face at my floundering as he repeated the question.

"Do you love me?" He asked. "And don't say it doesn't matter or it's not important. Just yes or no."

I stared at him for a moment longer as a war between my head and heart raged inside me. Deny, deny, deny was what my head was screaming, but in the end the quiet reminder of now or never from my heart was what won out.

"Yes, I do," I admitted, proud of my voice for not breaking. "I always have."

There was a grin on Chris' face now, but my stomach churned because it didn't mean anything. As I said, I'd loved him all along and yet here we were, no better off.

"That's all that matters then," he insisted. "We can figure out the rest."

"But what if we can't figure it out?" I protested, crossing my arms as if I could somehow fold into myself and disappear completely. "What if it's nice for a while and then it all comes crashing down around us? What about Gray?"

He shrugged again. His whole demeanour miles away from my own. He seemed confident, hopeful, almost excited while I felt nauseous, terrified and paralyzed by fear.

"But what if it doesn't? What if it all works out nicely? Why are you so convinced that we wouldn't last?"

"Because you're you," I reminded him, my tone flat as I stated the obvious. "Hollywood super star, Chris Evans. And I'm me, a boring nobody. You could have pretty much any famous actress you want, the only person who wants to be with me is the creepy maintenance worker in our apartment building."

Chris looked taken aback as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What? I've never heard about this guy."

"He's just some weird guy who does the repairs," I shrugged. "He comments on my outfits and looks at me in this way that makes my skin crawl, but he's harmless."

"Doesn't sound harmless to me," Chris argued, crossing his arms as a thunderous look settled on his face. "Does he have access to your place?"

"No!" I assured him, but after my quick answer I realized that I wasn't so sure. "Well, I don't know. He might have a spare key, I guess. If most maintenance people do? They have to give me notice before they enter the apartment anyway."

"Unless he's sneaking in to perv on you."

"Chris! That's gross!" I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "Why would you put that thought in my head?!"

"I told you that you should have let me buy you a house," Chris huffed. "You're moving when all this covid shit is over."

"Oh my god," I groaned having flashbacks to our conversation a few weeks ago about him buying me a car. "All of this is so beside the point! We're talking about how you'd get bored of me and leave me heartbroken for some flashy Hollywood babe, remember?"

"Right," Chris nodded, letting his arms fall to his side. "But that's such a ridiculous idea that I thought it was hardly worth acknowledging."

His dismissal of one of my biggest fears sent a flash of anger through me.

"How is it ridiculous?" I snapped. "It's true!"

"You know me, Whitney," Chris sighed. "You know that my team had to practically force me into doing Captain America because I had one foot out the door of the whole acting gig and I hated the way Hollywood made me feel. Do you really think that I would give up a chance at a having family with you, someone who I really care about, for some wild, short-lived fling?"

His tone conveyed his disbelief, but he hadn't quite accurately interpreted what I meant.

"I think you'd regret it," I clarified. "I think that once the initial excitement wore off, you'd see that I'm nothing special and that I don't fit in your world."

Chris was looking at me as if I'd grown an extra head and I crossed my arms a little tighter around myself.

"We were friends long before Grayson came around and I've always thought that you were something special. Where is all this insecurity coming from, Whitney? Because I just don't get it."

I swallowed hard as I bit my lip. I felt incredibly vulnerable and the urge to run away and continue ignoring all my feelings seemed much preferable to standing here and analyzing them all, but I stayed strong. We were both adults and this was the only way to move forward. Whether it ended how Chris wanted or not, he deserved to know how I felt.

"I spent a long time convincing myself that you didn't care about me as anything more than a friend. I told myself that it was an insane idea because we're in two very different leagues so there was no point getting my hopes up. Then that night happened and I thought that maybe I'd been wrong, that it could be the start of a really good thing, but then you were gone by the time I woke up and you never called."

I barely choked out the last few words as I fought back the tears that were swimming in my eyes. An unmistakable look of guilt flashed onto Chris' face and he opened his mouth to comment, perhaps to defend himself, but I held up a hand to stop him. I needed to get it out or I never would.

"Then three weeks later, I found out I was pregnant," I continued. "I assumed from your silence that you didn't want to be with me and I knew that we were good together as friends so I kept my feelings to myself and spent the last three and a half years beating myself up for thinking for even one second that you would want to be with me."

"I did want to be with you..."

Chris was looking at me with those puppy dog eyes that he'd mastered and I sniffled as a tear slipped down my cheek.

"I know that now, but I can't just turn those thoughts off."

Chris sighed and rubbed his hands over his face before holding out his arms.

"C'mere."

I shook my head, wiping my tears as I worried that I'd fall apart completely if I stepped into his arms, but when he persisted and gestured me over again, I couldn't resist. I took the few steps needed to close the space between us and let my arms slide around his waist. He hugged me close to his body, burying his face in my hair as pressed mine into his muscled chest. We stayed like that for a few moments until Chris broke the silence.

"I'm sorry. I was an idiot," he apologized, his words muffled by my hair. "I should have fought for you. At the very least, I should have stayed until you woke up and I should have called, but I was scared too."

I felt more tears fill my eyes as I choked out a soft "I know".

Another silence fell between us before Chris spoke again, his words making my heart almost stop completely.

"I was going to propose." I pulled back at that confession, my eyes wide as I looked up at him unable to process his words fast enough to speak before he continued. "I called my mom up as soon as you told me you were pregnant. I wanted her to help me pick out a ring, but she talked me out of it. Said you'd think I was doing it for all the wrong reasons."

My heart fluttered back to life at the sincerity in his admission, but I nodded my head.

"Your mom is a smart lady," I told him. "I absolutely would have thought you were only doing it because you felt you had to."

"It wasn't out of obligation though," he insisted. "Maybe I was getting a bit ahead of myself leaping straight to marriage, but I cared about you. It was an opportunity to make it official, make that commitment and be a family. That's what I wanted."

I stayed quiet, resting my head back against his chest as I tried to take in all this new information. It was a lot to process especially when it directly contradicted the belief I had clung to for so long - that Chris and I would never work and for Grayson's sake we were better off apart. That assumption was so deeply embedded in my brain that it was hard to find the courage to take such a risk.

As if Chris could sense my lingering indecision, he continued.

"It's still what I want," he said softly. "Being here these last few weeks with you and Grayson as a family has been a dream come true. I wouldn't give it up for anything or do anything to jeopardize it if you'd just give me a shot."

The word 'okay' was so close to the tip of my tongue that it shocked me.

That was all I had to do, just open my mouth and agree and he would be mine.

My heart was pleading with me to do it, to take that leap and ignore any of the arguments against it that were running through my mind - especially now that those arguments seemed much less sound than they had a few short weeks ago. I was so conflicted that it almost physically pained me to have to make a decision and I couldn't help, but wonder how he could be so certain.

So, I leaned back and tilted my head so my eyes could meet his.

"How can you be so sure?" I questioned. "After how things have been these last few years, how can you be so confident in your feelings?"

"Because I love you," he told me plainly and with unwavering surety. "If you tell me right now that it's not what you want, then I'll accept your decision. But if there's a hint of a chance, then I'll wait as long as I need to. I've been waiting for years, thinking that I didn't even have a shot, I think I can wait a little longer now that I know that I might."

It was another heart wrenchingly honest explanation, another vulnerable admission, and something in the openness with which he spoke made me realize that over the last three years he had done nothing to earn any distrust from me. Even after the fallout from Christmas, he'd put his hurt feelings and pride aside to make things easier for me. He'd been sincere during every discussion we'd had since then and hadn't been cruel or impatient about my indecision. I had no reason at all, other than my own fear and insecurities, to assume that he was going to break my heart and tear apart our family.

He deserved a little bit of trust from me as well and a clarity washed over me as I finally knew what I had to do.

There were words I could have said, probably should have said, but I didn't feel like there was anything that would accurately portray how I was feeling. I settled for a more direct approach as I pressed up onto my toes and let my lips fall against his.

He tensed at first and for a brief, heart stopping moment, I thought he might push me away again, but he didn't. He relaxed, pulling me closer as my hands slid to cup his neck.

It was a soft kiss. A gentle, loving kiss, that I hoped conveyed what I couldn't figure out how to say. But when our lips parted and he leaned down to rest his forehead on mine, there was a concern in his eyes that told me I wasn't going to get away with it that easily.

"What does that mean?"

I bit my lip, staring up past his long eyelashes into his eyes. There was still a tiny voice in my head telling me to run, to stop being so foolish and leave now before I made a mistake, but my heart had found its footing now and wasn't going to back down. Listening to my head all this time hadn't made things any easier, so it was time to try something else.

"It means," I started, taking in a shaky breath. "I don't want to keep you waiting anymore."

Chris let out a breath of relief as a tentative smile slid onto his face.

"Really? You're sure?"

I swallowed hard and nodded my head.

"Yes," I breathed out, my voice thick with all the emotions swirling through me.

He dipped his head a touch lower until our lips were reconnected. It was a deeper kiss, more desperate than the first as his tongue slid against mine and his grip tightened on my waist, my nails scraping against the fuzz of his recently cut hair. I caved into him, clinging to him like he was a lifeboat in a storm until he pulled back to take a breath.

My chest heaved against his, the adrenaline of his touch and what this finally meant, almost too much to handle. I settled back down, flat on my feet and nuzzled my face back into his chest as I fought to calm my racing mind and just enjoy the moment.

"You really mean it?" Chris asked again, the shakiness of his voice filling me with another pang of guilt. "You really want to give this a try?"

"I mean it," I nodded against him. "Doesn't mean my concerns have all vanished in the last five minutes, but I...I think I need to trust you."

"I won't let you down," he murmured into my hair as he pulled me even closer. Another silence fell between us until I broke it with an embarrassingly large yawn and Chris' chest shook as he chuckled. "Do you wanna sleep down here tonight?"

As soon as he'd asked the question, it suddenly hit me how exhausted I was. Even just the thought of walking upstairs seemed like an impossible task when there was such an inviting, comfortable bed only steps away from where I stood. But a thought popped into my head that I couldn't ignore and I turned my head slightly so I wasn't speaking directly into Chris' muscles.

"What about Gray?" I asked. "He always comes to you in the morning..."

"Would it matter?"

His tone wasn't accusing or annoyed, but genuinely curious as sharing a child did add a strange new element to all this. I didn't really know what the best way to handle it was since Grayson didn't really understand our relationship or know how a typical family was set up anyway, but it didn't seem like the best way to introduce him to the idea.

"I think we should talk to him about it instead of just letting him stumble on us in bed together," I suggested. "But I think maybe we should wait a while?"

Chris' face fell as the look of worry returned.

"You want to keep this a secret?"

"I didn't mean it like that," I shook my head. "You can tell whoever you want, but I think we should figure things out, make sure things are stable between us before we try to explain it to Gray."

"Alright, that's fair," Chris agreed before leaning down to place another soft kiss on my lips. "I'll wake you up before he comes down."

"Okay," I nodded as I let my thumb stroke his cheek.

We reluctantly slipped out of each other's arms, but it was a brief separation as we climbed into opposite sides of the bed. Once we'd turned the lights off, we met in the middle and he pulled me back against his chest, letting me hook my leg over his hip as we settled against each other.

Chris ran a hand up and down my spine as he nuzzled in my hair.

"This feels nice..."

"It does," I hummed. With the darkness around us, the quiet that had settled in, I felt encouraged to say something that I'd felt I should have said long ago. "I'm sorry, Chris."

I felt him tense.

"For what?"

"For messing you around so much," I admitted. "Especially at Christmas...that wasn't cool."

"If I had expectations, I should have laid them out before anything happened." His answer sounded rehearsed, as if he'd spent a long time convincing himself of that fact. I wasn't entirely sure it was a fair statement, but he continued before I could question it. "I can understand where you were coming from, but I promise I won't hurt you."

I felt a pang of uncertainty because that wasn't always a promise that could be kept, but the sincerity in his voice gave me hope. I placed a soft kiss against his chest as his hands slid up under the loose shorts I was wearing to cup my bum.

"I love you," I mumbled against his skin.

"I love you too," he replied, making a feeling of warmth flood through me. "Thank you for giving me a chance."

I sighed happily as my exhaustion had my eyes fluttering shut. I wanted to stay awake, to keep this moment before the brightness of the morning could bring any doubts or second guesses, but I was powerless to resist as sleep overtook me.

-

Part Five

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